"Scud Missile" Campaign on Aleppo

Repeatedly in late February, 2013, and to some extent over the preceding months, various parts of Aleppo have been hit with powerful explosions credited to Scud missiles. The death toll is past 100, by reports, from at least two incidents on Feb. 18/19 and Feb. 22, each with multile missiles hitting disparate areas of northeastern Aleppo or its northeastern satellite towns. The collective death toll was estimated by Human Rights Watch on the 26th as at least 141. .

It's not clear whether or not the Aleppo University Attack of January 15, also apparently using Scud-style surface missiles, was related.

As February draws to a close, there's clearly no guarantee the campaign of terror is over. And neither is it reasonable to claim certainty about who is responsible for the carnage.

This page is mostly a stub, but there is more being gone over on the discussion page.

World Reaction
On Feb. 21, the Russians passed a draft condemnation of a terrorist attack that day, a suicide bombing that killed over 50 next to the Russian embassy in Damascus. The first phase only of the late February Scud campaign was chosen as one of two central points the United States insisted on appending before signing. This perceived attempt to justify the attack was deplored by the Russian UN mission on Feb. 21. They refused to sign the US draft for the following language:
 * The members of the Security Council also condemned the Syrian government’s continued, indiscriminate use of heavy weaponry against civilians, including its February 18 launch of ballistic missiles in residential areas of Aleppo and February 21 airstrikes that hit a field hospital in Dera’a. The members of the Security Council called upon all sides of the conflict to respect international law.

The Russian refusal was deplored by the US mission on February 22. That same day, the second phase occurred with the supposed Scud strikes on Ard al-Hamra and Tariq Al-bab. The perpetrators apparently felt enabled.

Over the following days, as the Syrian government both offered negotiations to end the conflict and denied using Scud missiles, the issue clearly remained at the forefront for those seeking the government's ouster. Secretary of State John Kerry said "It seems to me that it's pretty hard to understand how, when you see the Scuds falling on the innocent people of Aleppo, it is possible to take their notion that they are ready to have a dialogue very seriously."

AP reports:
 * U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the offer of talks was a positive step "in the context of them raining Scuds down on their own civilians." But he expressed caution about the seriousness of the offer. "I don't know their motivations, other than to say they continue to rain down horrific attacks on their own people," Ventrell told reporters in Washington. "So that speaks pretty loudly and clearly."