http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/21/world/middleeast/aid-convoy-syria-attack.html 2016-09-20 14:07:01 U.N. Suspends Convoys to Syria After Attack on Aid Trucks A top official at the organization said the airstrike would amount to a war crime if found to have targeted humanitarian workers. === GENEVA — The Officials are seeking to confirm the number of people killed and wounded in the attack on Monday night, and an assessment of the security situation in Syria is underway, Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the United Nations, told reporters in Geneva. Stephen O’Brien He called for an independent investigation, adding that “the perpetrators should know that they will one day be held accountable for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.” The convoy of 31 trucks was being escorted by the The United States said it was “outraged” by the attack. John F. Kirby, spokesman for the State Department, said the convoy’s movements had been known to the Syrian authorities and to Russian officials. He added that the United States would reassess the prospects for cooperation with Russia in light of this “egregious violation” of the week-old cessation of hostilities. The airstrike came as workers were unloading aid. It killed a senior official of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and some civilians, but initial reports that 14 people had died could not be confirmed, said Benoit Carpentier, a spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Repeated strikes by aircraft destroyed 18 of 31 trucks that the United Nations said had been clearly marked as a humanitarian convoy. The trucks were carrying wheat flour, nine tons of medicine and winter clothing for about 78,000 people. The bombs also destroyed a hospital, Mr. Carpentier said. The attack came shortly after the Syrian Army had announced that the partial cease-fire was over and resumed offensive operations, reportedly including airstrikes on rebel-held parts of the city of Aleppo. Aid convoys have run the gantlet of sniper fire and shelling in the course of the five-year conflict, but the attack on Monday is believed to have been the first time a convoy has come under attack by aircraft. Aid agencies did not say whether the planes were Syrian or Russian.