The Assad regime and Russian forces have further ramped up the bombing campaign in southern Syria as over 74 barrel bombs and 30 airstrikes hit the area in less than 24 hours, according to local activists.
Smart News Network said that the figures, which were prepared by local activists after the failure of negotiations between the FSA groups and Russia, covered the period between Wednesday’s afternoon and Thursday’s dawn.
According to the figures, the Assad regime’s helicopters dropped no fewer than 36 barrel bombs on the town of Saida, 18 on the liberated parts of Dara’a city, eight on each of Yadodah and Naemah and six on the town of Um Al-Mayazin.
Activists said that Russian jets conducted more than 12 airstrikes on the town of Saida, seven on Tafas, five on Um Al-Mayazin, four on Naemah, and one on Yadodah.
Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Thursday said that he was “gravely concerned for the civilian population caught in the crossfire in South West Syria, including airstrikes and heavy shelling.” He warned that an estimated 750,000 lives are in danger.
Grandi called for redoubling of the efforts to cease hostilities to allow humanitarian actors to deliver life-saving assistance, shelter and evacuate the wounded. He also reiterated the need for a political solution in Syria.
The ongoing onslaught on Dara’a, which the Assad regime launched in June 20 with Russian aerial support, has so far killed and maimed hundreds of civilians, including women and children. The bombing campaign also destroyed many hospitals and civil defense centers as well as displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
