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Barrel bombs dropped on civilians in Syria
Up to 75 civilians feared dead after helicopters attack displaced persons camp in Idlib province
Syrian Army helicopters reportedly attacked a civilian camp in Idlib province
The ongoing bloodshed in Syria took a turn for the worse on Wednesday with the Assad regime being accused of dropping barrel bombs on a camp for displaced persons in Syria’s Idlib province, leaving scores of dead and wounded.
Camp residents told the reporters two barrel bombs were dropped on them from an army helicopter. Video footage was uploaded online showing burnt and disfigured bodies of victims. A man in the video says as many as 75 people died. Syrian state media made no mention of the bombing.
Barrel bombs are makeshift devices intended to maximise casualties on unprotected targets, normally consisting of nails and assorted metal shrapnel packed around a core of explosives.
Human rights groups say they have been dropped on densely populated neighbourhoods by the Syrian army in spite defiance of a UN ban on this type of weapon.
The conflict in Syria has so far resulted in nearly 10 million people displaced. Over three million refugees have fled the conflict which has claimed the lives of some 200,000 people.
