It was an attack that was shocking in both its scale and ruthless targeting.
Syrian State TV says at least 39 people have been killed in what it claims was a suicide car bomb attack on buses evacuating families from towns and villages under rebel siege.
In a deliberate echo of presidential phrases, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah today issued a joint statement condemning the US missile strike on Syria as having crossed “a red line”.
The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, has cancelled a planned trip to Moscow tomorrow, saying Russia’s continued defence of President Assad after the chemical weapons attack was “deplorable”.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of an “act of aggression against a sovereign nation” after its missile strike on Syria.
US-backed Syrian fighters say they’ve cut the main road south from the city of Raqqa, a stronghold of the extremist Islamic State group.
With the breakdown of the ceasefire, thousands of civilians are still trapped in the nightmare that is rebel-held Aleppo: an ever shrinking enclave, where the shelling has barely paused, where witnesses say bodies still lie in the streets.
Interviews with Zuhir Al Shamali, a citizen journalist in the last rebel-held enclave in Aleppo, and Brita Haji Hassan, the Mayor of East Aleppo, who is currently in Paris.
Lindsey Hilsum
The Syrian government knows it’s in a strong position. If the rebels don’t agree the ceasefire, they may be crushed. Previous ‘local ceasefires’ have been a euphemism for surrender.
Lindsey Hilsum
The Islamist rebels who have been occupying the Crac des Chevaliers crusader castle near Homs probably didn’t spend much time contemplating the irony of it all.
Alex Thomson
So Crimea has voted. It was messy, ugly, but it is also undeniably true that the majority will of the people in Crimea has prevailed – so what does the west do now?
Alex Thomson
From imminent intervention to the realpolitik of Moscow, outplaying the west at every turn – what a difference a few weeks makes.
Lindsey Hilsum
President Vladimir Putin has a number of guises – from ace fisherman to chopper pilot. His moves on Syria this week have only bolstered that fearsome self-image – and his ambitions for Russia.
Alex Thomson
The plan to hand Syria’s weapons over to international control has no chance of success, but it has achieved one thing – buying global leaders some time.
Lindsey Hilsum
Syrians tell of the fight to save victims of Wednesday’s alleged nerve gas attack.