Assad’s jets resume bombarding Maaret Al-Numan

BEIRUT: Syrian warplanes resumed bombarding the key northwestern town of Maaret Al-Numan yesterday, as clashes erupted on a nearby highway and an explosion rocked a town in Damascus province, a watchdog said.
The warplanes pounded Maaret Al-Numan as they have daily since it was overrun by fighters on Oct. 9, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
One fighter was killed in fighting after a military convoy was attacked on the highway south of Maaret Al-Numan, the Observatory said.
The military wants to regain control of the highway to resupply units under fire in Aleppo for the past three months and assist 250 troops besieged in their Wadi Deif base.
On Friday, fighters accused the regime of using cluster bombs in the attack, echoing claims by a rights group.
Fighters showed AFP debris from cluster bombs they accused the air force of dropping on residential areas, as well as dozens of others that failed to explode on impact.
Human Rights Watch has accused Syria of using cluster bombs.
In Damascus province, plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the town of Harasta after a powerful explosion rocked it, followed by shelling that killed two civilians killed, the Observatory said.
Meanwhile, peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi yesterday pressed Damascus for a truce to break the cycle of bloodshed.
Brahimi is hoping to secure a ceasefire during the four-day Eid Al-Adha Muslim holiday, which he believes could pave the way for other, more permanent peace initiatives.
“We will have discussions here with the government, the political parties and civil society about the situation in Syria,” Brahimi said when he arrived in Damascus on Friday.
“We will talk about the need to reduce the current violence and about whether it is possible to stop for the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.”
He is also expected to hold talks with Assad at a later date.
Brahimi is backed by UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Arab League head Nabil Al-Arabi who believe that if a truce is agreed during Eid, it could be extended to bring some respite in the 19-month conflict that has already killed more than 34,000 people.
Washington too has backed the truce call.
“We urge the Syrian government to stop all military operations and call on opposition forces to follow suit,” said a State Department statement.
Damascus has said it is ready to discuss the truce plan with Brahimi, while the opposition says the regime must take the first step and halt its daily bombardments.
Meanwhile, Washington has reportedly stepped up intelligence cooperation with Turkey, whose ties with Assad’s regime have rapidly deteriorated.
Separately, Turkey’s state-run agency said clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish rebels in the southeast of the country have left nine people dead.
The Anatolia news agency said yesterday three Turkish troops and three Kurdish rebels were killed in fighting that broke out in Hakkari province, near the border with Iraq.
The agency said rebels also attacked a military unit in Bitlis province, northwest of Hakkari, killing three government-paid village guards who are helping the Turkish security forces.
The attack comes amid a sharp escalation in violence over the past few months in Turkey’s southeast, where the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, are fighting for self-rule for Kurds.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the group took up arms in 1984.