30/04/2014 18:22
Activists say airstrike on Syrian school kills 19
Syrian government airstrike hit a school in the northern battleground city of Aleppo on Wednesday, killing at least 19 people, including 10 children, The Associated Press reported, citing activists.
The Ein Jalout school was hosting an exhibition of children's art about the war at the time of strike, according to activists. Videos of the scene showed bulldozers removing rubble from the smashed building, with the school's name visible.
The videos showed some of the children's drawings and paintings. One drawing showed a hanging skeleton surrounded by skulls with a child nearby being shot by a gunman in a ditch. The child has a speech bubble written above her head in broken English that partly reads: "Syria will still free."
The videos appeared genuine and corresponded to Associated Press reporting of the events.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which covers the conflict through a network of activists on the ground, said at least 19 people were killed in the strike, including 10 children. The local Aleppo Media Center put the toll at 25 killed, most of them children.
Aleppo, Syria's largest city, has been divided between government forces and rebels for nearly two years, with constant fighting doing little to change the balance on the ground. Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have been carrying out airstrikes and dropping crude barrel bombs in rebel-held districts in the eastern part of the city, at times hitting schools, mosques and markets.