Syria conflict: ‘Barrel bombs’ dropped on Aleppo
21 Dec BBC
Syrian government aircraft have dropped barrels laden with explosives
on rebel areas of the northern city of Aleppo, opposition activists say.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 22
people were killed, 14 of them children.
There has been no word from the Syrian government.Aleppo, Syria's
second city, is divided between rebel and government-held districts and
the air force regularly targets rebel areas.Large parts of the city, a
commercial hub, have been destroyed since a rebel offensive last year.
Reports suggest a school was hit in the latest attack.The districts
of Sakhur, Ard al-Hamr and Haydariyeh were hit, according to the
SOHR.The activist-run Aleppo Media Centre also reported several
helicopter attacks in the city, according to the AFP news agency.Reports
of the latest violence in Aleppo came a day after French Foreign
Minister Laurent Fabius said he was pessimistic about the prospects for
peace talks planned for next month in Switzerland.Mr Fabius said France
was trying to make the talks a success, but that there was “a great deal
of doubt”.The moderate anti-government groups which France has been
working with were “in serious difficulty”, he said.The US, UN and Russia
have been struggling for months to get the talks, known as Geneva II,
off the ground.The negotiations will aim to ensure the delivery of
humanitarian aid, end the fighting and outline a political transition
for Syria.
President Bashar al-Assad's government has said it will attend in
principle, but will accept no preconditions and refuses to negotiate
with “terrorists”, its term for almost all its political and military
opponents.
The opposition has said any political solution to the crisis must
include the removal of Mr Assad. It remains unclear who will take part
in the conference in the Swiss town of Montreux on 22 January, with
reports emerging last week that representatives of more than 30
countries wanted to attend.
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