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  28 killed in strikes on Syria displaced camp

28 killed in strikes on Syria displaced camp

AFP/REUTERS
Published : May 7, 2016, 3:33 am IST
Updated : May 7, 2016, 3:33 am IST

A rebel fighter from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) fires artillery during clashes with Syrian pro-government forces near the village of Om al-Krameel in Aleppo’s southern countryside. (Photo: AFP)

A rebel fighter from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) fires artillery during clashes with Syrian pro-government forces near the village of Om al-Krameel in Aleppo’s southern countryside. (Photo: AFP)

Condemnation mounted on Friday over deadly airstrikes on a camp for displaced people in northern Syria as the regime denied involvement, while a fragile ceasefire held in the battleground city of Aleppo. Women and children were reported to be among the 28 civilians killed in Thursday’s raids near the Turkish border, which left 50 others wounded.

The strikes in Idlib province, which is controlled by Syria’s Al Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and rebel allies, came as a 48-hour ceasefire took hold in Aleppo city to the east.

That truce entered its second day on Friday, allowing residents some respite from two weeks of fighting that killed more than 280 civilians, even as fighting raged to the south of the city.

The halt in fighting is part of international efforts to revive a landmark February ceasefire and galvanise peace talks to end a five-year war that has killed more than 2,70,000 people and displaced millions.

Mamun al-Khatib, director of the Aleppo-based pro-rebel Shahba Press news agency, accused “regime aircraft” of firing missiles at the camp in Al-Kammouna village — an accusation denied by Damascus. “There is no truth in the information in some media that the Syrian air force targeted the displaced camp in Idlib province” on Thursday, the official SANA news agency quoted the military as saying. It accused rebels of targeting civilians.

Russian military on Friday insisted no aircraft flew over a Syrian refugee camp the day it was hit by deadly strikes, suggesting Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front could have shelled the location. “We have attentively studied the information from the air space monitoring data in this area for May 4 and 5, 2016. There were no flights by Russian or any other aircraft,” spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. “Judging by the damage shown in photographs and video, the camp may have been shelled either on purpose or by mistake by multiple rocket launchers which are currently being used very actively in this area by terrorists from Al-Nusra,” Mr Konashenkov said.

South of Aleppo city, clashes between Syrian regime forces and Al-Nusra front left more than 70 dead from both sides, the Syrian Human Rights Observatory said on Friday.

The United Nations’ top aid official has demanded an immediate investigation into the killing of displaced civilians in the camp.

Meanwhile, the United States condemned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s statement that his goal is a final victory over the city of Aleppo and urged Russia to exert its influence over Damascus. “We call on Russia to urgently address this totally unacceptable statement,” state department spokesman Mark Toner said. “It’s clearly an effort by Assad to push his agenda, but it is incumbent on Russia to assert influence on that regime to maintain the cessation of hostilities.”