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Syria regime shelling of funeral kills 9: monitor

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At least nine people were killed on Saturday when government forces launched a barrage of rockets that hit a funeral on the edges of the Syrian capital, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "seven rockets and several shells hit areas on the edges of Qabun", a northeastern district of Damascus held by rebels.

"The shelling targeted a cemetery while someone was being buried there," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

"The toll may increase because there are about 15 people wounded, some of them in critical condition," he said.

Rebels and regime forces reached a local truce deal in Qabun in 2014, but violence steadily escalated in the neighbourhood which is now bombarded regularly.

Also on Saturday, three civilians were killed in government air strikes on Waer, the last opposition-held district of the central city of Homs.

The Observatory said two young brothers were among the dead.

The toll brought to 30, including 10 children, the total number of people killed in an "escalating air campaign and clashes in Waer", Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Homs was dubbed the "capital of the revolution" after vast demonstrations there early in Syria's anti-regime uprising.

But after months of siege and bombardment, rebels agreed to quit the city in a 2014 evacuation deal with the government.

Another local deal was struck specifically for Waer in December 2015, and hundreds of rebels have left the neighbourhood.

More than 310,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011.

But after nearly six years, the conflict has morphed into a multi-front war that has drawn in foreign powers and seen jihadist groups rise to prominence.

At least nine people were killed on Saturday when government forces launched a barrage of rockets that hit a funeral on the edges of the Syrian capital, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “seven rockets and several shells hit areas on the edges of Qabun”, a northeastern district of Damascus held by rebels.

“The shelling targeted a cemetery while someone was being buried there,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

“The toll may increase because there are about 15 people wounded, some of them in critical condition,” he said.

Rebels and regime forces reached a local truce deal in Qabun in 2014, but violence steadily escalated in the neighbourhood which is now bombarded regularly.

Also on Saturday, three civilians were killed in government air strikes on Waer, the last opposition-held district of the central city of Homs.

The Observatory said two young brothers were among the dead.

The toll brought to 30, including 10 children, the total number of people killed in an “escalating air campaign and clashes in Waer”, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Homs was dubbed the “capital of the revolution” after vast demonstrations there early in Syria’s anti-regime uprising.

But after months of siege and bombardment, rebels agreed to quit the city in a 2014 evacuation deal with the government.

Another local deal was struck specifically for Waer in December 2015, and hundreds of rebels have left the neighbourhood.

More than 310,000 people have been killed since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011.

But after nearly six years, the conflict has morphed into a multi-front war that has drawn in foreign powers and seen jihadist groups rise to prominence.

AFP
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With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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