At least 300 killed in regime airstrike near Syrian bakery
SUNDAY, 23 December 2012 Alarabiya.net English
More than 300 people were reportedly killed in airstrike near a bakery in the town of Halfaya in the central Syrian province of Hama.
“There is no way to really know yet how many people were killed. When I got there, I could see piles of bodies all over the ground. There were women and children,” Samer al-Hamawi, an activist in the town of Halfaya, where the strike hit, told Reuters. “There are also dozens of wounded people”
Halfaya was seized by rebels last week as part of a campaign to push into new territories in the 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “dozens of people were killed in an air strike on Halfaya.”
“In Halfaya, regime forces bombarded a bakery and committed a massacre that killed dozens of people, including women and children, and wounded many others,” said the Local Coordination Committees, a grassroots network of activists.
“A MiG (jet) has attacked! Look at (President Bashar al-) Assad’s weapons. Look, world, look at the Halfaya massacre,” says an unidentified cameraman shooting an amateur video distributed by the Observatory.
Activists said more than a thousand people had been queuing at the bakery. Shortages of fuel and flour have made bread production erratic across the country, and people often wait for hours to buy bread. More...
Dozens killed in air strike on bakery in central Syria
23-12-2012 17:10
Dozens of people were killed and wounded in an air strike on a bakery in Syria's central Hama province, activists said, with some reporting up to 200 dead.
"We cannot get an exact figure yet because we are still confused about which are dead and which are wounded," one activist said.
The strike hit Halfaya, a town recently seized by rebels in a new push to take territory in Hama. More...
HOMS · 91,779 like this
This is what happened today 23-12-2012 in Halfaya town nearby #Hama #Syria, MIGs Bomb the town while people standing in line for bread, Massacring over 300 people!
Halfaya massacre by Assad's forces, over than 300 dead in one neighborhood can you imagine?
Additional Action Needed on Kidnapping, Attacks on Civilians
December 22, 2012
(New York) â The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) sent a clear signal that targeting civilians violates the laws of war. The coalitionâs statement on December 19, 2012, condemned attacks on civilians, regardless of their nationality.
The coalition should use its influence to help release civilians kidnapped by groups across Syria and condemn attacks on civilians when they occur, Human Rights Watch said. The opposition Free Syrian Army, which is not controlled by the coalition, should take immediate steps to prevent violations of the laws of war, including taking appropriate action against those responsible for serious violations.
âThe SNC moved quickly and decisively to reject the idea that civilians can be targeted based on their nationality,â said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. âBy saying clearly there is no legitimate excuse for targeting civilians, the National Coalition sent a strong message to opposition fighters that such attacks violate the laws of war and those responsible should be held accountable.â More...
