U.S. officials have said two Russian aircraft were responsible for Monday’s attack on an aid convoy trying to reach the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo, although Russia has denied its aircraft were operating in the area at the time, Reuters reported Wednesday.
The blame game for the attack comes amid reports out of Syria on Wednesday that at least four medics were killed in the nearby village of Khan Tuman in a separate air strike on Tuesday, AFP reported.
Monday’s attack on a 31-vehicle convoy destroyed 18 trucks carrying aid and food to the rebel-controlled part of Aleppo. According to Reuters, U.S. intelligence shows two Russian Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes flew over the convoy at the time it was struck.
The Syrian Red Crescent said one of its staffers and “around 20 civilians” were killed in the strike, which prompted the United Nations to suspend all aid deliveries into Syria.
A spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry rebuffed Washington’s accusations, saying there were “no facts” to support the claim. “We have nothing to do with this situation,” she said, Reuters reported.
U.S. officials said they still hoped a U.S.-Russia ceasefire agreement, which went into effect September 12, can be salvaged.
After a meeting at the U.N. to discuss the Syria war, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry assured reporters the ceasefire “is not dead.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said after the meeting: “Is there still a chance this ceasefire will be effective? I can’t answer that question,” adding that, “we have to be honest, the U.S.-Russian negotiation has reached its limits,” according to Reuters.
The U.N. Security Council is due to hold a high-level meeting on Syria on Wednesday.