At least 28 dead in air raids on Syria displaced camp near Turkey

Published May 6, 2016
Syrian internally displaced people in the Atme camp, along the Turkish border in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.─AFP/File
Syrian internally displaced people in the Atme camp, along the Turkish border in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.─AFP/File

BEIRUT: At least 28 civilians, including women and children, were killed on Thursday in air strikes on a displaced camp in northern Syria near the Turkish border, a monitor said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the strikes which also left 50 civilians wounded targeted the camp near Sarmada in Idlib province, which is controlled by Syria's Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and rebel allies.

Mamun al-Khatib, director of the Aleppo-based pro-rebel Shahba Press news agency, accused the regime of carrying out the attacks.

"Two regime aircraft fired four missiles on the camp in the village of Al-Kammouna," he said.

"Two missiles fell near the the camp causing people to panic and two more fell inside where a dozen tents caught fire."

Images shared online by activists showed emergency workers putting out fires among damaged blue and white tents.

Khatib said the people in the camp had fled fighting in the north of Aleppo province.

Thousands of Syrians have fled fighting in the northern province over the last weeks, and camps for the displaced have been set up along the Turkish border.

The air strikes come after an intense diplomatic push to revive a landmark ceasefire and salvage peace efforts to end Syria's five-year conflict.

The February 27 nationwide ceasefire between the regime and non-jihadist rebels did not cover areas where Al-Nusra is present.

Syria's conflict has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions since it started after the brutal crackdown of anti-government protests in 2011.

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