Disturbing footage out of Syria appears to show the aftermath of shelling on a bakery in the northern city of Aleppo. According to Reuters, activists say at least 20 people were killed in the embattled city on Tuesday, including women and children.
Video that surfaced on YouTube purports to show the bakery's blood-covered walls, though the footage could not independently be verified; bodies and dismembered parts appear to be lying amid piles of bread on the floor. Residents carry out the dead and wounded amid shouts of anguish and panic.
Opposition activist Majd Nour told Reuters that the bakery was hit by Syrian army shells. "It was quiet all day and suddenly Assad's forces fired three shells. The first landed near the bakery and the other two hit it," he claimed.
Abu Jamal, another opposition activist, told CBS news via Skype that 11 victims have been identified so far. "The rest couldn't be identified as their bodies were disfigured beyond recognition," Jamal said.
Human Rights Watch reported in August that the Syrian army had attacked at least 10 bakeries in Aleppo. “Day after day, Aleppo residents line up to get bread for their families, and instead get shrapnel piercing their bodies from government bombs and shells,” said Ole Solvang, emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Ten bakery attacks is not random — they show no care for civilians and strongly indicate an attempt to target them.”
Also on Tuesday, the Syrian army attacked a rebel-held town in Syria's north. The Associated Press reports that Syrian warplanes hit Maaret al-Numan and the village of Mar Shamsheh and that troops and rebels clashed at a nearby military camp.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the conflict in Syria began 19 months ago. World leaders have called on the Syrian regime and rebel fighters to halt violence during the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha, which starts on Friday.
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