By Middle East correspondent Matt Brown, wires Updated 8 hours 27 minutes ago
Photo: Activists say more than 60 people were killed when a bomb landed on a queue outside a bakery in the town of Halfaya, in the central province of Hama. (Reuters/Shaam News Network: Samer Al-Hamwi)
Syrian activists say more than 60 people have been killed in an airstrike on a bakery as the UN's envoy arrived in Damascus for talks with president Bashar al-Assad.
Activists say the victims were killed when a bomb landed on a long queue outside the bakery in the town of Halfaya in the central province of Hama.
They have posted videos on the internet showing bloodied bodies covered by concrete rubble, maimed victims writhing in the street and survivors being carried away.
One witness, named as Hamawi, said more than 1,000 people had been queuing at the bakery.
Shortages of fuel and flour have made bread production erratic across the country, and people often wait hours to buy loaves.
"We hadn't received flour in around three days so everyone was going to the bakery today, and lots of them were women and children," Hamawi said.
"I still don't know yet if my relatives are among the dead."
There was no independent media access to the scene, as the government restricts press access in Syria.
But if confirmed, the attack on Halfaya, which was seized by rebels last week, would be one of the deadliest air strikes of Syria's civil war.
The attack coincided with the arrival in Damascus of UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who replaced Kofi Annan.
He had to drive from neighbouring Lebanon because fighting around Damascus international airport has effectively shut it down.
Mr Brahimi is in the country to meet Mr Assad in the hope of finding a solution to the civil war.
Syria's main ally, Russian president Vladimir Putin, has said he is not committed to keeping Mr Assad in power but he remains opposed to foreign intervention.
Meanwhile, Syria's information minister Umran Ahid al-Za'bi said rebels and their foreign allies should "forget" trying to topple Mr Assad.
He appeared to move away from the conciliatory tone of the Syrian vice-president, who said neither side could win the war and called for a national unity government.
"These military efforts to try to topple the government, of getting rid of the president, of occupying the capital... Forget about this," Mr al-Za'bi told a news conference in Damascus.
"I have general advice to those political powers that reject dialogue: time is getting short. Hurry and move on to working on a political solution."
ABC/Reuters
Topics:unrest-conflict-and-war, syrian-arab-republic First posted 11 hours 53 minutes ago
Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-24/27dozens-dead27-after-syrian-airstrike-hits-bakery-queue/4442094
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
24122012
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
No comments:
Post a Comment