Khaled Mahmoud al-Abdullah said that “the Syrian regime has been using barrel bombs for a very long time against the city of Aleppo. The regime was using these barrel bombs as early as last year.” The Syrian Revolution General Commission added: “The barrel bomb is used for its offensive effect (as the target is the military objectives), not as a means to drop the victims’ bodies.”

Dr. al-Faisal al-Fartousi, a specialist in pharmacology and toxicology, in a recent interview with the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) has condemned the use of the barrel bombs.

“When a tank hits an advanced fighter or a motorized loader it kills the driver, does it not? And then, what is the use of barrel bombs? It is not to drop the bodies. They are for their offensive effect,” he said. He stressed that the Syrian regime is not fighting against terrorists or groups that are fighting the government, but is fighting them militarily, by using barrel bombs as projectiles to attack military targets that it was able to hold. He noted that Syrian regime has not used barrel bombs outside of Syria, but has used them in Aleppo to disperse and destroy residential areas.

The Syrian Revolution General Commission also condemned Syria’s military attacks against civilians in an official statement issued this week.

“We denounce the latest terrorist attacks by the regime against civilians. We call on all forces to stop it and take all necessary steps to stop it from happening again. The regime is not interested in peace, it is only interested in controlling the people’s homes against the people,” the statement said.

Bashar Al-Assad has waged a vicious campaign against Aleppo civilians, using barrel bombs and a range of other bombs in an attempt to break the country’s opposition held city. His continued attacks have reduced up to 80% of the city’s already besieged population to mere skeletons as the war rages on. The U.N. Security Council must ensure that the Syrian regime carries out any of its attacks against civilians with total impunity.

The Syrian army’s offensive to recapture Aleppo hit a critical moment last Wednesday, with the regime’s fighters reportedly breaking through the encircled Al-Bab, the largest city under opposition control, in what could be a game changer for the Aleppo situation. It is now widely believed that the defeat of Al-Bab could help push the regime’s offensive to end