Syria monitor: 74 killed in 8 days of rebel Aleppo offensive

This frame grab from video provided by Baladi News Network, a Syrian opposition media outlet that is consistent with independent AP reporting, shows smoke rises from shelling on the Syrian government military academy, in western Aleppo, in southwest of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. Syrian rebels launched a fresh wave of attacks on western districts of Aleppo Thursday as airstrikes on a rebel-held village south of the contested city killed civilians, activists said. (Baladi News Network, via AP) (The Associated Press)

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In this image taken from video provided by the activist-run Thiqa News Agency, consistent with independent AP reporting, a plume of smoke rises after a missile falls on the town of Darat Izza, Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. Syrian activists are reporting Russian and government airstrikes have kept up on western rural Aleppo province against rebel positions despite a halt to airstrikes in the besieged eastern part of Aleppo city. (Thiqa News Agency, via AP) (The Associated Press)

This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Civil Defense workers and Syrian citizens inspecting damaged buildings after airstrikes hit in Darat Izza town, in rural western Aleppo province, Syria, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. Despite a halt in airstrikes in eastern Aleppo city, there has been an intense aerial bombing campaign in the western Aleppo countryside and nearby Idlib province. Rebels say the strikes are an attempt to sever the supply lines of the rebels, waging an offensive on government-held western Aleppo. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP) (The Associated Press)

BEIRUT – The opposition monitoring Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 74 civilians, including 25 children, have been killed in the 8-day-old rebel offensive on the government-held part of Aleppo city.

Opposition fighters launched a protracted attack on the western edge of government-held Aleppo, aiming to break a months-long government-imposed siege on the eastern part of the city they control. The opposition groups have come under increasing criticism for indiscriminate shelling of western Aleppo resulting in civilian deaths. The Observatory said Saturday in the same period it recorded three civilian deaths in rebel-held Aleppo districts.

Meanwhile, a temporary Russian moratorium on airstrikes on rebel-held parts of Aleppo expired. None of the area's estimated 275,000 residents evacuated the territory, as was urged by Russian and Syrian officials.