Syrian fighter jets bombard suburbs of eastern Damascus on 3rd day of truce

Syrian fighter jets bombarded suburbs of eastern Damascus on Sunday, continuing the air raids on Sunni Muslim neighborhoods in the capital since a U.N.-brokered ceasefire was supposed to begin two days ago, opposition activists said.    

There were large explosions as Russian-made warplanes hit the suburbs of Zamalka, Irbin and Harasta and Zamalka, they said.       

At a time when the regime and the opposition exchanged accusations, Damascus documented the breaches of what it called “armed opposition organizations” in a letter addressed to the U.N. Security Council. The Syrian capital stressed its commitment to put an end to military operations.       

In this regard, the official spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affaird Jihad Makdissi told AFP via email that the Syrian government is fully committed to put an end to military operations According to the statement of the General Command of Armed Forces. Makdissi said that the violations which took place were the result of attacks perpetrated by “organizations that refused the truce in the first place.”     

“My country documented all breaches in a letter to the U.N. Security Council”, he said.          

Separately, the Syrian League for the Defense of Human Rights said that a media activist detained since June 28 has died under torture. The League pointed out that the “documented” cases of torture victims in Syria exceeded 1125.

Iraqi authorities forced an Iranian cargo plane heading to Syria to land for inspection in Baghdad to ensure it was not carrying weapons, an Iraqi official said Sunday.           

It was the second such forced landing this month. The plane was released after the check.              

The move appeared aimed at easing U.S. concerns that Iraq has become a route for shipments of Iranian military supplies that might could Syrian President Bashar Assad battle rebels in his country's civil war.                    

The head of the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority, Nassir Bandar, said the inspection took place Saturday. The inspectors allowed the plane to continue its flight after they determined there were no weapons onboard, he said.


REUTERS/LBCI/AP