United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein warned Russia on Tuesday over the use of incendiary weapons in Syria's besieged opposition enclave of eastern Aleppo, and said crimes by one side did not justify illegal acts by the other.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured in air strikes since the collapse of the latest ceasefire and the Syrian regime's announcement last month of a Russia-backed offensive to retake Aleppo.

Zeid said that the situation in Aleppo demanded bold new initiatives "including proposals to limit the use of the veto by the permanent members of the Security Council", which would enable the UN body to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"Such a referral would be more than justified given the rampant and deeply shocking impunity that has characterized the conflict and the magnitude of the crimes that have been committed, some of which may indeed amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," he said in a statement.

Syria's regime and its allies had undertaken a "pattern of attacks" against targets with special protection under international humanitarian law, including medical units, aid workers and water-pumping stations, he said.

Civilian deaths

According to Fadela Chaib, spokeswoman for the World Health Organization, at least 342 people, including 106 children, had been killed in eastern Aleppo between September 23 and October 2. A further 1,129 people, including 261 children, had been wounded.

Those figures were based on reports from functioning health centers and the true figures were probably much higher, Chaib said.

"As of yesterday, we had only six partially functioning hospitals that are in service, only one hospital that offers trauma services," Chaib told the briefing.

Russia is a key player in the Syrian war by virtue of its military support for Bashar al-Assad and its role as one of five veto-holding powers on the Security Council.

The use of indiscriminate weapons such as incendiary weapons in heavily populated areas was of particularly grave concern, Zeid said, drawing a parallel with the battles of Warsaw, Stalingrad and Dresden during World War Two.

"I remind all State parties to Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, including the Russian Federation, that they are strictly prohibited from using incendiary weapons in air strikes on heavily populated areas, and that the use of such weapons by ground forces is severely restricted," Zeid said.

Designating the enemy as a "terrorist organization" was not an excuse to ignore the laws of war, Zeid said.

Talks suspended

Zeid's warnings came hours after the United States suspended talks with Russia over the conflict in Syria, accusing Moscow of not living up to its commitments under a ceasefire agreement.

Moscow and Washington had brokered a previous ceasefire but it collapsed last month after several days of relative calm.

PHOTO CAPTION

Children hold dolls symbolizing dead babies during in a sit-in in solidarity with the people of Aleppo and against Russia's support of the Syrian regime, in front of the Russian embassy in Amman, Jordan, May 3, 2016. The placard reads, 'Russian are baby killers'. REUTERS

Al-Jazeera