BEIRUT - At least 43 civilians, including 11 children, were killed in bombardment of several rebel-held areas across Syria on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. A key ally of the Syrian government, Russia began carrying out air strikes in the country in late September. Government bombardment also hit two neighbourhoods of the rebel-held east of Aleppo city, where 15 people were killed, among them six children, the Observatory said. The Observatory also reported 15 civilians dead in air strikes in the town of Tal Manas in the northwestern province of Idlib. More than 280,000 people have been killed in Syria, and more than half the country displaced, since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Source: Bangkok Post July 21, 2016 13:41 UTC