Obama, Merkel condemn 'barbarous' Russian, Syrian strikes on Aleppo: White House

US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned what they called "barbarous" Russian and Syrian government airstrikes on Aleppo during a phone call on Thursday, the White House said.

Russia and the Syrian government "bear special responsibility for ending the fighting in Syria," the two leaders agreed, strongly condemning the strikes in eastern Aleppo, an area they said is "populated with hundreds of thousands of civilians, half of whom are children."