At least 80 civilians were killed and many more injured when armed groups shelled those trying to flee violence in Hama, Syria, the U.N. said Wednesday. He said airstrikes Wednesday in rural Idlib completely destroyed a school, while Tuesday, “shelling on people trying to flee Wadi al Azeib in rural Hama resulted in the killing of 80 people”. In a statement Wednesday, main Syrian opposition group the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces blamed the Bashar al-Assad regime for the deaths in Hama, calling on the U.N. and the international community to hold it accountable. The regime controls rural Hama and for over a month has prevented 8,000 civilians from leaving the area to cross into an opposition-held zone. Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Source: GNN Liberia September 28, 2017 07:30 UTC