More than 100 killed in Syrian bakery attack
Scores of people who had been without bread for days were killed when Syrian warplanes bombed a bakery in the western village of Halfaya, opposition activists said Sunday.
More than 100 people were killed, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. The death toll could rise, the activist group said.
An activist who oversaw the burial of many bodies said at least 109 people died.
Hassan Al-Rajb said that 69 people were identified and buried, while 15 others were laid to rest without being ID'd. At least 25 more bodies were still at the site, but hospital workers said the roads were cut off and they were unable to reach the bakery, he said.
The hospitals cannot handle all the wounded, he said.
"There were dozens of dead thrown in the street. The residents were shocked and in a state of fear. It was chaotic," Mahmoud Alawy said.
Videos posted on social media purported to show the aftermath of the attack. Many bodies had limbs apparently blown off, and others lay bloody in the streets and in rubble strewn over a sidewalk. Uniformed Free Syrian Army soldiers and civilians scramble to pull survivors out of the carnage.
The town has lacked the ingredients for bread for about a week until an aid group delivered provisions Saturday, Alawy said. Hundreds of people lined up at the bakery on Sunday.
Al-Rajb said the town has three bakeries, and one opened at 1 p.m. Workers began to distribute the bread two hours later. He was on his roof about 200 meters (about 219 yards) from the bakery about 4 p.m. and saw a plane overhead. He scrambled toward the scene when he heard cries of "Emergency! Emergency!" he said.
"The first floor collapsed on the second floor, and four rockets were fired into it," he said of the attack.
Alawy claimed the government has been targeting large gatherings of people with artillery shells in the recent days since the Free Syrian Army liberated the town from Syrian forces.
About an hour after the bakery attack, 15 shells were fired into Halfaya from a nearby town, Al-Rajb said.
The Hama Revolution Command Council, a network of activists affiliated with the FSA in Hama province, said a MiG warplane bombed the bakery.
Many Syrians face food shortages and other needs as winter weather sets in. The United Nations estimates that more than 2.5 million need humanitarian assistance.
Earlier in the week, opposition groups also said rebels and regime forces battled near a hospital in Halfaya. Twenty-five people died there, the LCC said.
Syrian opposition surrenders
Swarms of Syrian militants are surrendering to the government troops around Damascus, local media reports. Over the last 72 hours regular army units delivered powerful blows on the militants in several places to the south-east of Damascus and put them to flight.
Meanwhile, the media report with reference to the Syrian opposition that a bakery was destroyed in the Hama province as a result of an air raid. From 100 to 200 people were killed.
Special envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States Lakhdar Brahimi arrived in Damascus on Sunday. He will have talks with President Bashar al-Assad on Monday.
Syria turns up heat on rebels as UN envoy arrives
International Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has arrived in Damascus to discuss the Syrian crisis with President Bashar Assad.
In the meantime, Syrian sources including the Information Ministry and the independent Al-Watan news service have reported gains made by the Syrian army in its operations to bust rebels.
In several southeastern suburbs of Damascus, their rebel defenders are laying down arms. In villages and orchards east of the Syrian capital, scattered groups of 15 to 50 armed rebels are desperately trying to evade entrapment.
The army says it is determined to crush the rebels and chase them out of Syria.
Peace envoy enters Syria
International peace envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi has entered the country and is on his way to Damascus, a Lebanese border official said on condition of anonymity.
"The international envoy crossed the Lebanese-Syrian border at about 2:00 pm (1200 GMT)," the official said, following reports by a security official that Brahimi had flown into Beirut International Airport.
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