Mortar Attack Kills 12 in Syrian Capital | WPN World People News

Mortar shells have struck a neighborhood in central Damascus in a deadly attack the Syrian government is blaming on "terrorists."

The state-run SANA news agency said the mortars Tuesday killed 12 people and injured 50 others in the al-Shaghour section of the capital. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 17.

Syria's government often uses the term "terrorist" to refer to the rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad from power.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch reported that Syrian forces have continued using barrel bombs in the northern city of Aleppo, despite a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding such attacks be halted.

The group said that since February, when the council passed the resolution, it has identified the sites of at least 85 bombings in rebel-held parts of Aleppo, with most showing strong signs of impacts left by barrel bombs.

Human Rights Watch is urging the Security Council to impose an arms embargo on the Syrian government and other groups involved in systematic rights abuses.

The group also faults opposition fighters for the use of improvised weapons, saying they are prone to indiscriminate impacts on civilians.

In addition to stopping barrel bombings, the Security Council resolution also demanded that both sides allow aid to reach those in need in Syria. Last week, the heads of U.N. humanitarian agencies said the government and rebels are blocking access to that aid.

A group of 35 legal international lawyers and legal experts from around the world said Monday there is "no legal barrier" stoping the U.N. from carrying out cross-border aid operations into Syria to help the millions of people who need aid.

In a joint letter published by Britain's The Guardian newspaper, the group said such deliveries have been held back by "an overly cautious interpretation of international humanitarian law." The experts urge the U.N. to bring aid into Syria, saying Syria's denial of aid access has been arbitrary and not for valid legal reasons.

The co-signers include Nicolas Bratza, the former president of the European court of human rights, Hans Corell, a former U.N. undersecretary-general for legal affairs, and Richard Goldstone, who was a chief prosecutor for the U.N. criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The U.N. says 3.5 million Syrians are in areas that are under siege or where humanitarian assistance cannot reach them.

The fighting that began in March 2011 has displaced at least 6.5 million people within Syria, with another 2.6 million fleeing to surrounding countries. More than 150,000 people have been killed.

Source: Voice of America