{"id":311065,"date":"2017-04-16T14:22:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-16T14:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=311065"},"modified":"2017-04-16T14:22:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-16T14:22:00","slug":"syria-war-at-least-68-children-among-126-killed-in-bus-bombing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/04\/syria-war-at-least-68-children-among-126-killed-in-bus-bombing\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria war: ‘At least 68 children among 126 killed’ in bus bombing"},"content":{"rendered":"
At least 68 children were among 126 people killed in Saturday’s bomb attack on buses carrying evacuees from besieged Syrian towns, activists say.<\/p>\n
A vehicle filled with explosives hit the convoy near Aleppo.<\/p>\n
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said at least 109 evacuees from government-held towns were killed, along with aid workers and rebel soldiers.<\/p>\n
Many more were injured in the attack, the group said.<\/p>\n
The explosion shattered buses and set cars on fire, leaving a trail of bodies, as the convoy waited in rebel territory near Aleppo.<\/p>\n
In his Easter Sunday address, Pope Francis called the bombing a “vile attack on fleeing refugees”.<\/p>\n
“May [God] sustain the efforts of those who are actively working to bring comfort and relief to the civilian population in beloved Syria, who are greatly suffering from a war that does not cease to sow horror and death,” he said.<\/p>\n
The bomb went off at Rashidin, west of government-held Aleppo, at about 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT) at the checkpoint where the handover of evacuees was due to take place.<\/p>\n
It happened when a vehicle loaded with food arrived and started distributing crisps, attracting many children, before exploding, the BBC’s Middle East correspondent Lina Sinjab said.<\/p>\n
She said it was not clear how the vehicle could have reached the area without government permission.<\/p>\n
But there is also no evidence that rebels were involved in the attack, as the government claims.<\/p>\n
It would not be in the rebels’ interest, our correspondent says, as they were waiting for their own supporters to be evacuated from the other towns.<\/p>\n
The planned evacuation was part of the so-called “four towns” deal, where civilians in towns under siege by both sides would be allowed to leave.<\/p>\n
It applies to government-controlled Foah and Kefraya, where the bomb struck, as well as rebel-held Madaya and Zabadani near Damascus.<\/p>\n