Syrian ballistic missiles killed 140

 
Bo Wilson26 February 2013

At least four ballistic missiles were fired into Aleppo killing 140 people, including 70 children, a human rights group said today.

The attacks, carried out by Syrian regime forces on residential areas of the city over a week, mark an “escalation of unlawful attacks against Syria’s civilian population”, Human Rights Watch said.

Aleppo, the Syria’s largest city, has seen some of the heaviest fighting of the civil war. Rebels seized several neighbourhoods in July, but the government still controls some districts.

Human Rights Watch researcher Ole Solvang, who visited Aleppo last week, said up to 20 buildings were destroyed in each area hit by a missile and there were no signs of military targets. The group compiled a list of those killed from cemetery burial records, interviews with relatives and neighbours, and information from activists. The umbrella group for Syrian opposition parties has reversed its decision to boycott a conference in Rome being held to help drum up financial and political support for the opposition. The Syrian National Coalition said the move came after a phone call between its leader, Mouaz al-Khatib, and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem said that the regime was willing to hold talks with the armed opposition.

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