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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Rockets hammer Damascus suburbs, 40 die |
| 2015-11-01 |
| Russians airstrike get the blame BEIRUT: A barrage of missiles slammed into an overcrowded suburb of the Syrian capital, killing at least 40 people on Friday, activists said. The attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma — the latest on this fighter-held area that has seen hundreds of people killed over the past few years — was a stark reminder of the enormous civilian suffering inside Syria. There were conflicting reports about the attack in Douma. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees group said government forces fired more than 11 missiles at a market, killing at least 40 people. Both organizations and a third Douma-based activist network were reporting dozens more wounded in the mid-morning attack. The Syrian National Council, the main Western-backed opposition group in exile, blamed Russian airstrikes for the “massacre” in Douma, saying 55 civilians were killed. It said it was the second deadly attack in the past 24 hours after Russian airstrikes bombed the main Douma hospital the previous day. The sprawling suburb is a frequent target of deadly government airstrikes and barrel bombs dropped from helicopters. It is home to the Jaysh Al-Islam fighter group. In August, airstrikes on Douma were said to have killed around 100 people, provoking sharp rebuke from UN and other officials. Douma has been held by anti-Assad fighters since the early days of Syria’s conflict, which began in March 2011 with mostly peaceful protests but escalated into a full-scale civil war after a massive government crackdown. Amateur videos posted on the Internet showed gruesome images of bodies strewn among wreckage and young men sprawled on the ground of what appears to be a market. Pools of blood and flames could be seen as people cried for help. Meanwhile, at least 15 people, including four children, were killed in airstrikes Friday on the northern city of Aleppo, activists said. It was not clear whether the strikes were Russian or from Syrian government aircraft. Russia, a strong ally of Assad, began airstrikes in Syria on Sept. 30, saying it is targeting mainly the Daesh group. |
| Posted by:badanov |