Airstrike On Bakery In Central Syria Kills More Than 60, Activists Say

[News_Editor]

Airstrike on bakery in central Syria kills more than 60, activists say < br />

2012-12-24 13:36:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

HALFAYA, SYRIA (BNO NEWS) -- More than 60 people are believed to have been killed on Sunday when a government airstrike hit a bakery in Syria's central Hamas province where a crowd was queuing for bread, activists and witnesses said. It would make it one of the worst airstrikes in the ongoing civil war.

The airstrike happened at the front of a bakery in the town of Halfaya, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Hama, the capital of the province which carries the same name. Witnesses said dozens of people were waiting in line for bread when a government airstrike struck.

"More than 60 civilians were killed by the regime's aerial bombardment on the town of Helfaya. Fourteen of those were torn to pieces and badly disfigured," a spokesperson for the Britain-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The group said dozens more were injured, including 50 people who were in a critical condition.

Footage uploaded to the video-sharing website YouTube showed a crater directly in front of a heavily damaged building, although it was not possible to verify the authenticity of the videos. They showed injured people and an unknown number of bodies, some of them in puddles of blood or underneath blocks of concrete.

If the death toll is confirmed to be more than 60, it would make Sunday's airstrike one of the worst of its kind since the start of the uprising against President al-Assad in March 2011. Syrian state television provided few details about the incident but blamed an "armed terrorist group", a term frequently used by the government to refer to its opponents.

The United Nations estimates that more than 30,000 people, many of them civilians, have been killed and more than 1.2 million others have been displaced since the start of the uprising last year which was met with a military crackdown. The opposition believes the number of deaths has already surpassed 44,000.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-12-24

[Chicog]

Apparently, most Sunni expect Assad gone in 3 months. I reckon 5-6.

[simple1]

Apparently, most Sunni expect Assad gone in 3 months. I reckon 5-6.

Allegedly the most effective fighting group amongst the rebels is Jabhat al-Nusra (US claims to be Al Qaeda linked and many from Iraq). Should the Assad regeime be forcibly removed it seems that that there will then be further killings as the various groups in the rebel forces seek to consolidate power. Definitely a possibility of a Sunni Islamic State governed by extremists right next door to a NATO country, Turkey and of course Israel and Lebanon. A very dangerous scenario for stability in the region.

Edited December 24, 2012 by simple1

[Chicog]

Apparently, most Sunni expect Assad gone in 3 months. I reckon 5-6.

Allegedly the most effective fighting group amongst the rebels is Jabhat al-Nusra (US claims to be Al Qaeda linked and many from Iraq). Should the Assad regeime be forcibly removed it seems that that there will then be further killings as the various groups in the rebel forces seek to consolidate power. Definitely a possibility of a Sunni Islamic State governed by extremists right next door to a NATO country, Turkey and of course Israel and Lebanon. A very dangerous scenario for stability in the region.

I think America wants a Sunni state to break the line from Tehran to Beirut. It would isolate Hezbollah quite nicely, so I think the Israelis are quietly up for it as well.

[thaibeachlovers]

Apparently, most Sunni expect Assad gone in 3 months. I reckon 5-6.

Allegedly the most effective fighting group amongst the rebels is Jabhat al-Nusra (US claims to be Al Qaeda linked and many from Iraq). Should the Assad regeime be forcibly removed it seems that that there will then be further killings as the various groups in the rebel forces seek to consolidate power. Definitely a possibility of a Sunni Islamic State governed by extremists right next door to a NATO country, Turkey and of course Israel and Lebanon. A very dangerous scenario for stability in the region.

If the US is meddling again, it proves that they have learned nothing from their adventure in Libya, or the outcome in Egypt.

I don't know if what we see on the news is true or not, but I recently received on e-mail a photo, supposedly of a bomb dropped by the Syrian air force, that was obviously faked. Problem is that most people seeing it will believe it to be true.

[Credo]

But it's OK if Turkey and Iran and Russia and China all meddle?

Not wanting an Al-Queda linked gov't is considered meddling?

And I doubt very much that the US is responsible for the Arab Spring.

This was a bombing on a bakery, killing civilians.

[JemJem]

The Middle East is a mess now. The so-called 'Arab Spring' is anything but that.

Islamism is on the increase throughout the region. Even in Turkey, the so-called 'moderate Islamist government' wants and plans on Islam to play a dominant role in all aspects of society.

[Scott]

Off-topic post deleted. Please stay on-topic.

Make that two posts. This is not about US involvement in the Arab Spring.

Edited December 27, 2012 by Scott

[JemJem]

Let's hope that sooner than later, the sides will start negotiating. Personally, I am not optimistic though.