Regime forces and Syrian rebels
fighting for control of a small but strategic town in the country's embattled
northern province of Aleppo have killed at least 20 people, most of them
civilians, activists said Friday.
Meanwhile, rebels killed at least
30 Syrian soldiers, including ten who were executed after they were captured,
the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Observatory, which relies on
a network of activists on the ground, said the civilians in the town of Tel
Aran in the northern Alepppo province were killed in a series of attacks.
It said a family of seven
people including four children were killed when their vehicle was shelled.
Another 12 people were killed in shelling that hit a residential building, including
six children, the group said. On Thursday, a father and son were also killed in
the shelling, it said.
The town of Tal Aran lies close
to Safira, which forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have been trying to
wrest from hard-line Muslim rebels for the past few weeks. A military complex
near Safira is believed to include an underground facility for chemical weapons
production and storage.
Near the town of Khanaser in the
same province, rebels killed 20 Syrian soldiers in clashes, the Observatory
said. It wasn't immediately clear which rebel group killed the soldiers.
And in the eastern Syrian town of
Deir al-Zour, rebels of the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra or Nusra Front
executed 10 soldiers they captured during clashes, the Observatory said. The
executions came a day after a top military intelligence officer was killed in
clashes in the city.
Cyprus to help Syria's weapons inspectors:
Cyprus has approved the creation of a
support base for the chemical weapons inspectors working in Syria, including
the use of an old airport that will allow them to travel between the two
countries by helicopter.
The Cypriot government said Friday its goal is to help with
the inspectors' difficult mission of destroying Syria's chemical weapons
arsenal during the country's civil war.
The base will be located at a disused Nicosia airport inside
the U.N.-controlled buffer zone that separates the island's Greek-speaking
south and Turkish-speaking north.
Inspectors also will be able to stay at hotels in Nicosia,
which is about 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the Syrian port of Latakia.
The mission in Syria is being conducted by the U.N. and the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Missing US journalist in Syria:
The family of a New Hampshire journalist missing in Syria for
nearly a year plans to mark his 40th birthday with a plea for his safe return.
James Foley was last seen Nov. 22 in northwestern Syria. He
was contributing videos to Agence France-Presse for the media company
GlobalPost. The company says he likely was abducted by a pro-Syrian government
military group.
Investigators said this summer they believe Foley is being
held near Damascus with one or more Western journalists.
His parents, John and Diane Foley, will lead a prayer vigil
Friday evening at a church in Rochester.
James Foley was held by government forces in Libya in 2011
while covering that country's civil war. He was released after six weeks.
AP/LBCI/REUTERS