27 civilians killed in Aleppo

DAMASCUS: Syria’s air force killed 27 civilians on Thursday in a raid on a market in an Aleppo provincial village, as a businessman became the second hopeful to register for the country’s controversial presidential election.

 

Meanwhile, a team overseeing Syria’s chemical weapons handover said Damascus has now surrendered 92.5 percent of its stockpile, even as UN Security Council members called for a fresh probe into alleged gas attacks.

 

The air raid in Atareb, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three children were among the dead, comes amid a massive aerial offensive on rebel areas across Aleppo province that began in mid-December.

 

The campaign has killed hundreds, mostly civilians, and forced thousands of families to flee their homes. “The area that was struck today is a market area; that’s why there were so many civilians killed,” said Aleppo-based activist Abu Omar.”

thenews