8 killed, 20 hurt as government blasts small town
BEIRUT — A Syrian warplane bombed a small town partially controlled by antigovernment fighters near the Turkish border Saturday, killing eight people and wounding at least 20, the latest escalation in the use of air power by President Bashar Assad in the Arab nation’s civil war.
The air strike, reported by activists in the area as well as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in Britain, was one of at least two that took place Saturday. The increased use of air strikes by the government forces is taking its toll on civilians, and, in the eyes of activists, is evidence of its insensitivity to civilian casualties.
The air strike on the town of Manbej came hours after a government announcement that Syria welcomed the appointment of former Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi as the United Nation’s new point man in efforts to halt the fighting.
The announcement was made by the office of Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, which also denied Arab media reports that he had defected to the opposition. AlSharaa “did not think, at any moment, of leaving the country,” the statement said. The administration has suffered a string of prominent defections in recent months, though Assad’s inner circle and military have largely kept their cohesive stance behind him.
Brahimi, the new U.N. envoy, takes over from former Secretary-General Kofi Annan who is stepping down on Aug. 31 after his attempts to broker a cease-fire failed. His appointment comes as U.N. observers have begun leaving Syria, with their mission officially over by midnight Sunday. A second air strike earlier in the day targeted the northern border town of Azaz, where more than 40 people were killed and at least 100 wounded in an air strike earlier this week, according to international watchdog Human Rights Watch. Activists said Saturday’s bombs hit an open field. There were no casualties.
In other violence Saturday, government forces shelled rebel areas across the country, including the southern province of Daraa, the northern region of Aleppo, Deir el-Zour to the east and the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, activists said.