Members of the Free Syrian Army stand guard at an area they set fire to, to mark the front line between their clash with pro-government forces, in the city of Aleppo, October 17, 2012.
Syrian activists and medics say a series of government air strikes on rebel areas in the country＇s north has killed at least 20 people.
The activists said the strikes happened late Wednesday and early Thursday and hit a total of four towns in Idlib and Aleppo provinces, including the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan. Medics added that a number of children are among the dead.
Videos of the strikes posted online show leveled buildings and survivors pulling bodies from the debris. Activist claims and videos could not be independently verified.
International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Thursday that a temporary cease-fire he has called for in Syria could form the basis for a real truce in the war-torn country. Brahimi will travel to Damascus in the next few days in an attempt to broker the cease-fire.
​​The U.N.-Arab League envoy told reporters Thursday after meeting Jordan＇s foreign minister that a respite in hostilities could build confidence and help bring about a longer truce in the 19-month-old conflict.
A previous cease-fire in April collapsed after just a few days, with each side blaming the other. Then-mediator Kofi Annan resigned from his post in frustration.
Disappearances
Meanwhile, a global online activist group is calling attention to thousands of cases of forced disappearances in Syria, saying government security forces and paramilitary groups are using the tactic to terrorize families and communities.
Avaaz released testimony Thursday from family members of those arrested, detained or abducted in Syria since the crisis began in March of last year. It says it will hand the cases to the United Nations Human Rights Council for investigation.
A spokesman for the group, Ian Bassin, said the sheer scale of the operation may signal that the government is using the tactic as a tool of intimidation.
The accounts include a man arrested at a military checkpoint in February whose family does not know where he is being held. Another family describes a man being arrested shortly after the start of protests in May 2011, and only hearing of his whereabouts from detainees who had been released.
The organization＇s report cites human rights groups and lawyers saying at least 28,000 — and as many as 80,000 — people have been forcibly taken.
Avaaz stopped updating its own totals in July 2011 with just under 3,000 cases, saying the situation on the ground in Syria had made it too difficult to verify the accounts.
More violence
Also Thursday, Syria＇s state-run SANA news agency said terrorists blew up a gas pipeline and an oil pipeline.
It said the explosions happened in the Deir Ezzor area, and quoted an oil ministry official saying repairs to the pipelines would begin soon.
The Syrian government refers to rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as "terrorists." |
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