CAIRO, Apr. 30 (Aswat  Masriya) - The Muslim council of elders , headed by the al-Azhar sheikh Ahmed Tayeb, condemned on Saturday the "monstrous airstrikes that the Syrian city, Aleppo has witnessed."  

The council demanded "international humanitarian conscience" and human rights NGOs to take action to "save the innocent" who have been besieged in Aleppo, and caught in between fighting in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian war, stated on Friday that approximately 226 civilians “including over 50 women and children” were killed throughout eight days of “bombardment” on Aleppo.

According to an NGO called “The Syria Campaign,” heavy airstrikes on Aleppo’s al-Quds hospital left 27 staff and patients killed, including Muhammad Waseem Maaz, “the city’s most qualified pediatrician.”

Doctors without Borders reported that the airstrikes killed at least 14 people.

The two hashtags “#SaveAleppo” and “#AleppoisBurning” quickly spread on social media. The airstrikes have been attributed to the Syrian regime.  

The Syrian government’s foreign ministry was angered by U.S. and French statements on what the regime called the “Aleppo victory” and said they represented “feigned care for the Syrians,” according to pro-regime Syrian news outlets.

According to the U.S. news outlet, Voice of America, Secretary of State John Kerry commented that, “It appears to have been a deliberate strike on a known medical facility and follows the Assad regime’s appalling record of striking such facilities and first responders.”

Nonetheless, “there are constant daily communications,” between the U.S. and Russia while the State Department does not believe that U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated over the Syrian crisis, VOA reported.

Last September, Russia launched airstrikes on targets in Syria using the Syrian airfield Hmeymim. Although Russia announced in March it was pulling out most of its military from Syria, U.S. officials told Reuters earlier this month that Russia has repositioned artillery near Aleppo.

In October, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and the special envoy of the Russian president held "extensive" talks, reflecting the "compatibility" of their visions on the Syrian crisis. Egypt also expressed its support for Russian military intervention in the war-torn country.

However, Egypt is also an ally of Saudi Arabia, which opposes Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and Russia's role in the conflict. Riyadh has been generous with Egypt since mid-2013 but the Saudi king's latest visit came at a critical time for the Egyptian economy. Years of political turmoil have halved Egypt's foreign reserves and driven away tourists.