Syria: airstrikes, ground fighting continue around key town
(Vatican Radio) The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Syrian warplanes struck
Maarat al-Numan, a strategic, rebel-held town on the Damascus-Aleppo highway. The
observers also say the Syrian army and rebels fought in a Palestinian refugee camp
near Damascus. Also Tuesday, Syrian state television blamed the assassination of air
force General Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khalidi on those it calls terrorists. Heavy fighting
around the Syrian city of Homs has prevented United Nations aid mission from delivering
food and other relief items to families trapped in the city. The mission was to deliver
155 tons of food for about 16,500 people and non food items such as mattresses blankets
and hygiene kits. "All parties on the ground contacted in advance of the mission expressed
in principle willingness to allow aid through the front lines. However immediate delivery
was prevented by active conflict and logistical complications such as lack of safe
location to off load the goods," said Jens Laerke the spokesperson for United Nations
Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. UN agencies heavy fighting in
parts of Homs City is preventing thousands of people from receiving humanitarian assistance.
Listen to this report from regional correspondent Nathan Morley: