Syrian and Russian warplanes pounded rebel-held east Aleppo yesterday ahead of a UN s ecurity council meeting to discuss the worst surge in violence in the city in years. Overnight, residents and a monitor reported heavy air raids on the besieged east of the city, which Syria's army has pledged to retake.The council was due to meet late yesterday to discuss the violence, which UN chief Ban Ki-moon has described as "chilling".Russia must prove it is willing to take "extraordinary steps" to help restore a cessation of hostilities in Syria, five Western governments and the EU said."The outrageous bombing of a humanitarian convoy, continuing reports that the regime is using chemical weapons and the unacceptable ongoing regime offensive on eastern Aleppo, supported by Russia, blatantly contradicts Russia's claim that it supports a diplomatic resolution," the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the US and the UK and the EU's foreign-affairs chief said in a joint statement yesterday.Patience with Russia is "not unlimited," they said.At least 101 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Syrian-Russian bombardment since Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.The monitor group said at least 17 children were among the dead.On Saturday night, residents said cluster bombs rained down in the east of the city, where an estimated 250,000 people are living under a government siege."All night long they were dropping cluster bombs. I could not sleep until 4am," said 62-year-old Ahmed Hajar.More than 300,000 people have been killed and over half the country displaced since the war began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.And Syria's foreign minister said on Saturday that his government was confident of "victory"...