VOA, Cairo, Washington, September 24, 2012 — Syrian government warplanes continued their bombing campaign in and around the major city of Aleppo Monday, pounding civilian districts and causing a number of casualties.
Amateur video showed neighbors and rescue workers clawing through the rubble of a collapsed building, searching for survivors. Chunks of concrete and wooden doors dangled overhead as the crowd picked through the debris.
Witnesses said a government warplane dropped what local residents call a “barrel bomb” over several buildings in Aleppo Monday, causing them to collapse.
For months now, analysts said the government appears to be using large metal barrels filled with explosives and shrapnel to destroy buildings.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the opposition Local Coordination Committees said the early morning strikes destroyed two buildings in the southern part of the city.
Elsewhere, video from Homs, shown on the Al Jazeera television network, showed smoke rising from parts of the city, amid reports of more shelling and fighting there.
Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, said government forces are inflicting collective violence on the population out of desperation.
“It goes without saying: that’s collective punishment and massive destruction,” he said. “Syrian MiGs are not known for being precision fighter jets and they don’t have military targets to use missiles. The fact that government troops are using maximum firepower indicates despair.”
Pro-government Addounia TV claimed that regime forces recaptured territory inside Aleppo from rebel fighters, showing a group of soldiers running across a street filled with debris. The report also showed images of the local governor’s office, saying it had been retaken from rebels.
The television channel also interviewed several people who said they are from a neighborhood “liberated” by government troops. One middle-aged man told the pro-government station that life is better when the government is in control.
In Damascus, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi said the rebels are headed for defeat.
“It is only a matter of time, and it won’t be long,” he said. “We are heading for a definite victory and it will be achieved very soon. Anyone who is betting against this [victory] whether military, political or security, will fail and is stupid, an idiot or a conspirator.’’
Brahimi briefs U.N. meeting
Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League special envoy for Syria, will brief the U.N. Security Council Monday on his recent visit to the region, which included talks in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The Security Council has been unable to reach agreement on how to respond to Syria’s crisis, with Russia and China blocking three Western-backed resolutions seeking to pressure Mr. Assad to end the violence and begin talks with the opposition.
Meanwhile, there are some indications international efforts are starting to make a difference, including those by the U.N.’s World Food Program in Homs.
Country Director Muhannad Hadi said despite the ongoing violence, the WFP remains determined.
“This is one of the areas in Homs that sustained a lot of damage,” he said. “WFP provides food assistance to the people who live there and will provide more assistance to the people who decide to return.’’
The WFP estimates 223,000 people are relying on its help as they live in shelters and mosques.
The United Nations said more than 260,000 Syrians have fled to neighboring countries during the 18 months of conflict. There are also thought to be more than 1.2 million people displaced inside Syria, and 2.5 million in need of humanitarian assistance.
