CEASEFIRE UPDATE: New strikes in Aleppo as Syria announces offensive.

Syrian and Russian planes were pounding eastern Aleppo, according to activists. A rescue worker described what was happening as “annihilation”.

The government has urged people to avoid positions held by rebels. Russia has not confirmed its involvement.

US-Russian talks to revive a collapsed truce have broken up without progress.

Publicly, John Kerry sold the Syrian deal with Russia as a possible “turning point” in the five-year-old civil war. But privately, he “conceded to aides and friends that he believes it will not work,” even before it was implemented.

Our hands continue to be tied by overly restrictive rules of engagement, while Moscow and Damascus do whatever they please — with another self-humiliation of the U.S. Secretary of State as an added bonus.