DAMASCUS: Some “enemy missiles” targeted the Syrian regime’s military positions in the provinces of Hama and Aleppo late Sunday, the official SANA news agency reported, without identifying the attackers.
The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights monitor confirmed the firing of missiles, adding that “Iranian elements” were stationed at two of the targeted bases.
The Observatory could not immediately say whether there were any casualties, nor who was responsible for the missile strikes.
The report came amid heightened tensions in Syria after Damascus and its ally Iran accused Israel on April 9 of conducting deadly strikes against a military base in the center of the country.
Several days later, on April 14, the US, France and Britain carried out strikes against several of the Syrian regime’s military positions, in response to a suspected chemical attack on the rebel stronghold of Douma, which caused dozens of deaths, according to rescue services.
“A new attack with missiles targeted military positions in the provinces of Hama and Aleppo,” respectively in the center and north of the country, SANA reported, citing a military source.
In the April 9 attack, at least 14 soldiers, including seven Iranians, were killed in the strike on a military base in central Homs province.
‘Missiles’ fired at Syrian regime military positions: state media
‘Missiles’ fired at Syrian regime military positions: state media
- The report came amid heightened tensions in Syria after Damascus and its ally Iran accused Israel on April 9 of conducting deadly strikes against a military base in the center of the country
- US, France and Britain carried out strikes against several of the Syrian regime’s military positions, in response to a suspected chemical attack on the rebel stronghold of Douma
5 bodies of migrants washed ashore in east of Libya’s capital Tripoli, police officer says
TRIPOLI: At least five bodies of migrants including two women have been washed ashore in َQasr Al-Akhyar, a coastal town in the east of Libya’s capital Tripoli, a police officer told Reuters on Saturday.
Hassan Al-Ghawil, head of investigations at the Qasr Al-Akhyar police station, said that according to people in the area, a child’s body washed ashore and because of the waves’ height the body returned to the sea, and the coast guard was asked to search for it.
Ghawil said the bodies are all dark-skinned people. The bodies were found on Emhamid Al-Sharif shore in the western part of the town by people who reported to the police station.
Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Qaddafi to a NATO-backed uprising. Factional conflict has split the country into western and eastern factions since 2014.
Qasr Al-Akhyar is a coastal town some 73 kilometers (45 miles) east of Tripoli.
Pictures were posted on the Internet, and also seen by Reuters, showing the bodies of the migrants lying on the shore, where some were still within black inflatable lifebuoys.
“We reported to the Red Crescent to recover the bodies,” said Ghawil. “The bodies we found are still intact and we think there are more bodies to wash ashore.”
Earlier this month, fifty-three migrants, including two babies, were dead or missing after a rubber boat carrying 55 people capsized off the coast of Zuwara town in western Tripoli, the International Organization for Migration said.
Last week, a UN report said migrants in Libya, including young girls, are at risk of being killed, tortured, raped or put into domestic slavery, calling for a moratorium on the return of migrant boats to the country until human rights are ensured.
