Civil War in Syria

Army assault on Syria province kills 57

HRW says regime 'willfully' kills civilians from air

 

Six children were among at least 57 people killed in southern Syria as the army launched an all-out assault on two towns in Daraa province, a watchdog said yesterday.
“At least six children, seven women, 16 rebel fighters, 16 other unidentified men and 12 army troops were killed on Wednesday, in fighting, shelling and summary executions waged after the army launched an assault on Al-Sanamein and Ghabagheb,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP the army’s assault came a day after a dozen troops defected from a nearby military post to join the rebels.
“The defectors took refuge in the area of Al-Sanamein and Ghabagheb, which up until then had remained somewhat more calm than other areas of Daraa,” said Abdel Rahman.
“The army launched its assault, and shelled several houses,” he added.
Nationwide, at least 179 people were killed in violence on Wednesday — 50 civilians, 86 rebels and 43 soldiers, the Observatory said.
Meanwhile, the Damascus regime has “willfully” killed thousands of civilians in air strikes that amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, as rebels lobbied the major powers for weapons.
G8 foreign ministers gathered for a second day of talks in London after several of them met opposition leaders to discuss their calls for arms to tilt the balance in their fight to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
Overshadowing the talks was a Wednesday statement by the head of the jihadist rebel al-Nusra Front pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, which has increased concerns about weapons falling into the wrong hands.
The United Nations says that more than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria’s 2-year-old conflict. It started with peaceful protests against Assad’s rule, inspired by other Arab Spring uprisings, but following a harsh regime crackdown descended into full-blown civil war.