\n The United States accused the Syrian regime Friday of using \"starvation as a weapon of war\" -- a war crime under the Geneva Conventions -- stepping up the rhetoric against Bashar al-Assad and his Russian backers.\n<\/p>\n
\n Rejecting the Kremlin claims that attacks on Aleppo have stopped, a US official told AFP \"the regime has rejected UN requests to deliver aid to Eastern Aleppo -- using starvation as a weapon of war.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n The language mirrors the Geneva Conventions' prohibition against starving civilians \"as a method of warfare.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Aleppo's quarter of a million residents have been besieged and bombarded for months, prompting international outcry.\n<\/p>\n
\n Washington is currently weighing further sanctions against Syria and a push for justice at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.\n<\/p>\n
\n Officials hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin may rethink his country's participation in a war that has seen chemical weapons and barrel bombs used against civilians, if Russia is seen as an international pariah.\n<\/p>\n
\n Earlier Friday Russia failed to win re-election to the UN Human Rights Commission, a serious diplomatic blow.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We are taking steps, whether its ramping up public pressure or other forms of pressure,\" a second senior Obama administration official told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We are still looking at the whole arsenal of tools to make them feel the weight of international criticism, not saying that in and of itself is going to work.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n \"But we have some indication that they don't want to be viewed -- the Russians in particular -- as being guilty of war crimes.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We've also spoken about forms of international accountability when it comes to Russian and regime actions.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n The Kremlin said Friday that Putin did not think it was time to resume air strikes on Aleppo after the defense ministry requested that a moratorium on bombing be lifted.\n<\/p>\n
\n Syrian rebels launched a major assault Friday aimed at linking opposition-held districts with the outside world.\n<\/p>\n
\n But a US official gave the Kremlin's claim short shrift.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Despite Russia's claims, attacks by the regime and its backers have continued in Aleppo,\" the official said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We continue to look at Russia's actions not their words to determine if Russia is meeting their claims about their military intervention on behalf of the Assad regime.\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The United States accused the Syrian regime Friday of using \"starvation as a weapon of war\" -- a war crime under the Geneva Conventions -- stepping up the rhetoric against Bashar al-Assad and his Russian backers. Rejecting the Kremlin claims that attacks on Aleppo have stopped, a US official told AFP \"the regime has rejected […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-30387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n