A barrage of missiles slammed into an overcrowded suburb of the Syrian capital, killing at least 40 people on Friday, activists said, as world powers convened in Vienna for talks on how to resolve the country’s conflict.
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135-c-06-(Zeina Karam (ZAY’-nuh kah-RAHM’), AP correspondent)-“dropped from helicopters”-AP correspondent Zeina Karam reports the Douma suburb is frequently targeted by government forces”.
“I am hopeful that we can find a way forward”, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters, adding: “It is very hard”.
Douma, east of Damascus, has been under intense government attack for weeks now.
In August, 117 people were killed in a single day of air strikes in Douma, causing a global outcry.
Rebel-held Douma lies in Eastern Ghouta, the largest opposition stronghold in Damascus province.
More than 250,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011. Pools of blood and flames could be seen as people cried for help.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights calculated that between January and July, Assad’s military and pro-government militias killed 7,894 people, while ISIS killed 1,131.
There are also doubts about whether Tehran and Moscow are ready to push Assad to step aside, particularly at a time when the Islamic State group is seeking to tighten its grip on swathes of the country for its self-proclaimed caliphate.
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But his regime is being propped up by Russian president Vladimir Putin, who has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against the terrorists and moderate rebel groups including the Free Syrian Army.
