100 killed by Assad army in Syria towns

Across different towns,at least 100 people died in shelling and clashes,according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Local Co-ordination Committees. They said 129 civilians were among 200 people killed in Syria on Wednesday.

There was little resistance as Assad’s forces pushed towards the centre of Daraya. Armed rebels had apparently already left,activists in Damascus said.

“They are using mortar bombs to clear each sector. Then they enter it,while moving towards the centre,” said Abu Zeid,an activist from an area near Daraya.

Other activists said the army was also bombarding parts of the town from Qasioun,a mountain overlooking Damascus,and a Republican Guard barracks near a hilltop presidential palace.

Assad’s forces also raided the southeastern Kafr Souseh town early on Thursday and detained people,another activist said.

The military had driven insurgents from most of the areas they seized in the capital after a bomb killed four top security officials on July 18,but rebels have crept back,regrouping without taking on the army in pitched battles.

International diplomacy has failed to curb the conflict in Syria,which the UN says has cost over 18,000 lives since March 2011.