Syrian jets bomb rebel bases despite UN ceasefire call

AFP

DAMASCUS WARPLANES unleashed a wave of raids in Syria’s north on Tuesday, aiming to dislodge rebels whose seizure of a key highway has prevented reinforcements from reaching the main battleground city of Aleppo.

Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi began a visit to Cairo, meanwhile, after appealing for a ceasefire during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al Adha.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the predawn air raids around Maaret al-Numan were the “most violent” since insurgents captured the strategic Idlib province town last week.

The warplanes targeted the blockade of the highway to Aleppo, theatre of intense fighting for the past three months, it said, adding that rebels responded with antiaircraft fire.

“Since this morning, there have been 29 air strikes on the area of Maaret al- Numan,” said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

“Most civilians from the area have fled.” Army shelling of nearby Kafr Nabal killed two children, aged six and 10, said the Observatory, adding they were among at least 78 people who died in bloodshed around the country.

Another five children under the age of six died along with two adults in shelling of homes at Mayadeen village in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, added the Britainbased group.

“The army’s bombardments are killing the future of Syria,” Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The Observatory — which relies on a network of activists, medics and lawyers for its information — says children account for 2,300 of the 33,000 people killed in the conflict.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad also battled rebels in the countryside outside Damascus, and pounded Jobar, a stronghold of dissent in the capital itself, and the towns of Harasta and Hammuriyeh to the east.

Brahimi, the UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, called for a ceasefire as he shuttled between Syria’s neighbours, bitterly divided by the conflict.

The Algerian veteran troubleshooter visited Shiitemajority Iraq after talks in Shiite-ruled Iran, closest ally of Syria’s minority Alawitedominated regime.

His office said he appealed for Iranian help to broker a truce for the Eid al Adha holiday which falls at the end of October, marking the climax of the annual hajj pilgrimage.

Last week, he visited Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the two Sunni-led states which have been the greatest champions of Syria’s opposition, and on Tuesday he was in Cairo.

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