(Zaman Al Wasl)- Russia warplanes staged on Saturday air strikes on rebel-held areas in Homs and Hama provinces as regime forces and allied militias step up attacks on the besieged countryside, rebel source said.
A rebel commander told Zaman al-Wasl that regime forces are mobilizing troops to capture Har Banafseh town in the southern countryside of Hama.
Rebels on Friday attacked two checkpoints of the National Defense forces in Tel Derra and Ayn al-Dananeer villages in the nearby countryside of Hama.
At least16 NDF members were killed, activists reported.
Rebels said the attack was in response to NDF's ambush last Monday that killed 14 civilians in the northern countryside of Homs as they were fleeing the embattled rebel-held area to Idlib province.
On Friday, at least 18 civilians killed in Russian air strikes on the besieged countryside of Homs, activists and monitoring group said.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights and local activists said 16 people killed on Friday in missile attack on al-Ghanto town.
Two more victims were killed in the nearby Dar al-Kabira town due to the aerial bombing.
Meanwhile, the military offensive by Syrian regime forces and allied forces have cut supply routes to 120,000 people in the northern countryside since mid-January, causing a risk of hunger and deaths due to lack of medical care, the United Nations said Thursday.
RUSSIA DOUBTS ON CEASEFIRE
Russia said Saturday a ceasefire deal for Syria agreed by major powers was more likely to fail than succeed, as Syrian regime forces backed by further Russian airstrikes gained more ground against rebels near Aleppo.
International divisions over Syria surfaced anew at a Munich conference where Russia rejected French charges that it was bombing civilians, just a day after world powers agreed on the "cessation of hostilities" due to begin in a week's time.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated accusations that Russia was hitting "legitimate opposition groups" and civilians with its bombing campaign in Syria and said Moscow must change its targets to respect the ceasefire deal.
Russia has said it will keep bombing ISIS and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which in many areas of western Syria fights government forces in close proximity to insurgents deemed moderates by Western states.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, asked at a security conference in Munich Saturday to assess the chances of the cessation of hostilities deal succeeding, replied: "49 percent."
Syrian state television announced the army and allied militia had Saturday captured the village of al-Tamura overlooking rebel terrain northwest of Aleppo.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported advances in the same area, adding that Russian jets had hit three rebel-held towns near the Turkish border.
Government offensives around Aleppo have sent tens of thousands of people fleeing towards the Turkish border.
Two Syrian rebel commanders told Reuters Friday insurgents had been sent "excellent quantities" of Grad rockets with a range of 20 km (12 miles) by foreign backers in recent days to help confront the Russian-backed offensive in Aleppo.
A new death toll by a Syrian research group says at least 400,000 people have been killed since revolution erupted in March 2011. (With Reuters)
A rebel commander told Zaman al-Wasl that regime forces are mobilizing troops to capture Har Banafseh town in the southern countryside of Hama.
Rebels on Friday attacked two checkpoints of the National Defense forces in Tel Derra and Ayn al-Dananeer villages in the nearby countryside of Hama.
At least16 NDF members were killed, activists reported.
Rebels said the attack was in response to NDF's ambush last Monday that killed 14 civilians in the northern countryside of Homs as they were fleeing the embattled rebel-held area to Idlib province.
On Friday, at least 18 civilians killed in Russian air strikes on the besieged countryside of Homs, activists and monitoring group said.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights and local activists said 16 people killed on Friday in missile attack on al-Ghanto town.
Two more victims were killed in the nearby Dar al-Kabira town due to the aerial bombing.
Meanwhile, the military offensive by Syrian regime forces and allied forces have cut supply routes to 120,000 people in the northern countryside since mid-January, causing a risk of hunger and deaths due to lack of medical care, the United Nations said Thursday.
RUSSIA DOUBTS ON CEASEFIRE
Russia said Saturday a ceasefire deal for Syria agreed by major powers was more likely to fail than succeed, as Syrian regime forces backed by further Russian airstrikes gained more ground against rebels near Aleppo.
International divisions over Syria surfaced anew at a Munich conference where Russia rejected French charges that it was bombing civilians, just a day after world powers agreed on the "cessation of hostilities" due to begin in a week's time.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated accusations that Russia was hitting "legitimate opposition groups" and civilians with its bombing campaign in Syria and said Moscow must change its targets to respect the ceasefire deal.
Russia has said it will keep bombing ISIS and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which in many areas of western Syria fights government forces in close proximity to insurgents deemed moderates by Western states.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, asked at a security conference in Munich Saturday to assess the chances of the cessation of hostilities deal succeeding, replied: "49 percent."
Syrian state television announced the army and allied militia had Saturday captured the village of al-Tamura overlooking rebel terrain northwest of Aleppo.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported advances in the same area, adding that Russian jets had hit three rebel-held towns near the Turkish border.
Government offensives around Aleppo have sent tens of thousands of people fleeing towards the Turkish border.
Two Syrian rebel commanders told Reuters Friday insurgents had been sent "excellent quantities" of Grad rockets with a range of 20 km (12 miles) by foreign backers in recent days to help confront the Russian-backed offensive in Aleppo.
A new death toll by a Syrian research group says at least 400,000 people have been killed since revolution erupted in March 2011. (With Reuters)
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