Syrian government warplanes struck a crowded market in a rebel stronghold near Damascus on Sunday, a watchdog group said, killing 82 people and wounding more than 250. The carnage unfolded even as the U.N’s top aid official began a visit to the country to assess humanitarian needs.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based pro-opposition watchdog that documents violence in Syria, reported multiple airstrikes on the town of Douma, seven miles northeast of Damascus, the capital.
“There were at least between nine and 10 rockets from the regime’s air force that targeted a market in Douma,” Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman said in a telephone interview.