Feb. 1, 2014: In this citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center (AMC), an anti-Bashar Assad activist group, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian citizens gather near flames caused by a Syrian government forces warplane attack, in al-Bab neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. (AP/Aleppo Media Center AMC)
Syria will soon ship more chemical weapons abroad for destruction after being accused of moving the material too slowly, Russia said Tuesday.
According to Reuters, the Syrian government will also show up at a new round of peace talks next week.
The announcement comes as activists said civilians in Aleppo were fleeing deadly barrel bomb raids by President Bashar Assad's air forces.
Assad is eager to control Aleppo, along with the capital, Damascus, and the area along the coast, Reuters reported. The rest of the country remains fragmented between rebels, Kurds and other armed groups.
Western analysts tell Reuters that Assad's use of barrel bombs and his delaying of shipping chemical weapons suggests he sees little prospect of the West taking meaningful action against him.
Barrel bombs are cheap and easy to make, and can kill dozens at a time when dropped from helicopters.
The civil war in Syria has killed more than 130,000 people and forced 6 million people from their homes.
Fox News' "Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world.