--- description: Russia has launched hundreds of bombing raids in Syria since Monday, aiding President Assad’s forces as they conduct a major military offensive title: Syria Peace Talks Threatened as Regime Launches 'Unprecedented' Assault image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdffb75ab5734d0bd/69887be7196cf4a5e503a29b/gettyimages-506091166.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Syria](/tag/syria/) ## Syria Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Syria Peace Talks Threatened as Regime Launches 'Unprecedented' Assault by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2016 9:01 AM CUT  People are seen inside debris after a Russian forces staged air-strike over residential areas in Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Jan. 21, 2016 People are seen inside debris after a Russian forces staged air-strike over residential areas in Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Jan. 21, 2016Anadolu Agency/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2016 9:01 AM CUT Russia has [launched](http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-peace-talks-officially-start-un-envoy-190524507.html "undefined") hundreds of bombing raids in Syria since Monday, aiding President Bashar Assad’s forces as they conduct a major military offensive that could destabilize fragile peace talks. A monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, has said at least 18 civilians were killed in Syria’s Aleppo province on Tuesday in strikes of “unprecedented” intensity, reports Agence France-Presse. “We have never seen things like this since the beginning of the revolution,” said Basma Kodmani, spokesperson for Syria’s main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC). The HNC, which is attending U.N.-brokered peace talks in Switzerland, said Russia’s 270 bombing sorties so far this week have helped bring Assad’s army closer to cutting off rebel[ supply lines](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/syrian-army-encircles-aleppo-ceasefire-talks-fade-160203033045269.html "undefined") in Aleppo province. U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura has said that the dialogue may be the final chance for a political solution to the brutal five-year conflict. However the HNC said talks, which [began on Monday](http://time.com/4203232/syrian-peace-talks-opposition-geneva/ "undefined") in Geneva, would not succeed unless troops loyal to Assad call off their assaults, including those backed by Russia. The rebels also demand that critical humanitarian aid be allowed access to besieged towns, including Madaya, where civilians are dying of malnutrition. \[[_AFP_](http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-peace-talks-officially-start-un-envoy-190524507.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4205669/syria-russia-airstrikes-peace-talks-united-nations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4205669/syria-russia-airstrikes-peace-talks-united-nations/"},"headline":"Syria Peace Talks Threatened as Regime Launches 'Unprecedented' Assault","datePublished":"2016-02-03T09:01:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:42:38.021Z","description":"Rebels say the Geneva talks won't succeed unless troops loyal to President Bashar Assad call off their assaults","url":"https://time.com/4205669/syria-russia-airstrikes-peace-talks-united-nations/","keywords":["Syria","russia","United Nations","Peace Talks","airstrikes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdffb75ab5734d0bd/69887be7196cf4a5e503a29b/gettyimages-506091166.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdffb75ab5734d0bd/69887be7196cf4a5e503a29b/gettyimages-506091166.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Russian air-strikes hit residential areas in Aleppo","caption":"Russian air-strikes hit residential areas in Aleppo","creditText":"Anadolu Agency/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/syria/","name":"Syria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4205669/syria-russia-airstrikes-peace-talks-united-nations/","name":"Syria Peace Talks Threatened as Regime Launches 'Unprecedented' Assault"}}]}] ```