Syrian warplanes bombard rebels with 60 airstrikes

Activists said at least 500 people were killed over the four-day period ending Monday when a UN-backed truce was supposed to be in effect. They said that the death toll for Monday touched 80.

A government official said that a car bomb killed 10 people on the outskirts of Damascus and TV footage showed firemen fighting the blaze after parts of balconies fell on cars parked on a street. Another car bomb exploded in a Damascus neighbourhood. State-run news agency said there were many casualties.

Monday was supposed to be the fourth and final day of a UN-backed ceasefire to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

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The army warned on late Sunday night that it will strike “remnants of terrorists with an iron fist’’ after they “repeatedly violated the ceasefire”.

Rami Abdul-Rahman,who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,said airstrikes on Monday were by far higher than on any other day since the conflict began in March last year.

A Syrian official said the car bomb in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana also wounded 41 people and heavily damaged shops and apartments in the area inhabited by Christians and members of the Druse minority sect.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep disappointment at the collapse of the ceasefire and urged more unity from the international community. Speaking in South Korea,he said,“I am deeply disappointed that the parties failed to respect the call to suspend fighting. This crisis can’t be solved with weapons and bloodshed,” he said.

UN International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters in Moscow that the failure of the ceasefire will not discourage him and his supporters.

Bosnian man walks 5,650 km to Mecca,says Syria most difficult

A 47-year-old Bosnian Muslim,Senad Hadzic,has covered 5,650 km on foot to reach Mecca for the annual Haj pilgrimage.

Hadzic took 10 months to reach Mecca,crossing Serbia,Bulgaria,Turkey,Jordan as well as war-torn Syria during his journey. Hadzic said that the most difficult stretch of his journey was in Syria. He had to negotiate repeatedly either with the government troops or with the rebels. “One Syrian soldier asked me to pray for him in Mecca,” he said. PTI