http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/world/middleeast/syrian-forces-tighten-siege-of-rebel-held-areas-in-aleppo.html 2016-09-24 23:18:56 Syrian Forces Tighten Siege of Rebel-Held Areas in Aleppo The capture of a refugee camp north of the city showed that a Syrian and Russian bombing campaign was bolstering the position of pro-government troops. === RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — As wave and after wave of bombs fell on areas of eastern Aleppo in The advance was the first sign that an intensive bombing campaign by Syrian and Russian jets that began Thursday night was working to bolster the position of the Syrian government’s forces. Since a cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia At the United Nations on Saturday, Syria’s foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, said the army was “making great strides in its war against terrorism,” thanks to support from Russia, Iran and fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah group. Throughout the five-year conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced half the population, Syrian officials have dismissed the rebels as foreign-backed “terrorists” seeking to destroy the country. The United States has blamed President Secretary of State “It is beyond the pale,” Mr. Kerry said at Tufts University, before a meeting with European foreign ministers. “If people are serious about wanting a peaceful outcome to this war, then they should cease and desist bombing innocent women and children, cease cutting off water and laying siege to an entire community, and work with the international community in order to be able to bring peace to people who are starving.” The On Saturday, large bombs left craters in roads, destroyed buildings and buried residents in rubble. More than 45 people were killed in the city and at least seven others in the countryside, according to conflict monitors and rescue squads. Medics said hospital space and supplies were running low, while antigovernment activists shared videos of wounded men in bloodstained bandages sprawled on crowded clinic floors. “We don’t have enough room for surgery,” said an Aleppo doctor who gave his name as Abu Sara for security reasons. “Some of the wounded have to wait, and we have lost some of them while they are waiting.” The bombing helped government forces, and the militias that fight alongside them, to seize the Handarat camp for