As bombs continue to pepper Aleppo where up to 41 people including five children were killed yesterday, the Pope has begged for a ceasefire.
An intensive day of bombing yesterday on besieged rebel-held parts of the Syrian city has left activists and volunteers once again counting the dead.
Rescue workers pulled at least one boy alive from under the rubble late Tuesday night, but the bombardment has continued today, prompting Pope Francis to call for an 'immediate ceasefire'
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| A wounded Syrian child gets treatment at a field hospital after warcrafts belonging to Russian army carried out an airstrike on a residential area at Bustan Al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. |
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Wednesday that
Tuesday's bombings killed 25, while the first responders Syrian Civil Defense and activist media platform Aleppo Media Center put the death toll at 41.
Ibrahim al-Haj, of the Civil Defense, says teams are continuing to search for survivors and bodies under a collapsed building in the al-Fardous neighborhood.
He says the mother of the boy pulled from the rubble is in a critical condition.
Al-Haj said a bomb hit while rescuers were on the scene, injuring several of them.
Pope Francis, in his strongest appeal to date on the conflict in Syria, on Wednesday called for an 'immediate ceasefire' to allow for the evacuation of civilians.
The war in Syria has escalated since efforts to reach a ceasefire collapsed in September.
Syria and its ally Russia subsequently launched their biggest offensive on the city of Aleppo's rebel-held sectors.
The air strikes have drawn widespread condemnation, including calls from France and the United States for an investigation into war crimes they say have been committed by Syrian and Russian forces.
'It is with a sense of urgency that I renew my appeal, imploring those responsible with all my strength for an immediate ceasefire,' he said before tens of thousands of people at his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square.
Francis said a ceasefire was essential 'at least for the time necessary to allow for the evacuation of civilians, especially children, who are still trapped by cruel bombardments.'
Francis has made many appeals for an end to the bloodshed in Syria.
Last month, he urged forces to stop bombing civilians in Aleppo, warning them they would face God's judgment.
He did not name those carrying out the air strikes.
On Sunday, Francis promoted the current Vatican ambassador in Syria, Italian Archbishop Mario Zenari, to the high rank of cardinal in order to show the concern of the 1.2billion member Catholic Church for Syria.
It was believed to be the first time in recent history that a Vatican ambassador, known as a nuncio, would have the rank of cardinal.
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