Syrian regime kills 50, activists say

DAMASCUS

Syrian regime killed 50 people including women and children in offensives on several cities across the country on Saturday, activists said.

Syrian Network for Human Rights, a London-based human rights group that tracks civilian and dissident casualties, said forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched air and ground assaults in a number of opposition-held areas, killing 18 in Damascus, 13 in Idlib, 9 in Aleppo, 6 in Homs, 2 in Daraa, and one in Deiz ez-Zor and Hama each.

Local Coordination Committees of Syria said that Free Syrian Army fighters also launched attacks with heavy machine guns on several regime-held spots in Aleppo.

The Free Syrian Army is the main armed opposition group fighting in Syria to topple the embattled President Bashar Assad in a civil war, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives according to the latest updated tally by the UN. The UN stopped updating its tally after an official count became too difficult to ascertain.

Regime helicopters conducted rocket and mortar attacks in Muleyha, Dareya, Jobar and Harasta districts of Damascus on Saturday, the committee said.

Syria has been gripped by almost constant fighting since President Bashar al-Assad's regime responded to anti-government protests in March 2011 with a violent crackdown, sparking a conflict which has spiraled into a civil war.

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