France says Syrian govt air strikes erode peace efforts

Paris: Syrian government air strikes on the outskirts of Damascus that killed 33 were designed to "terrorise" the Syrian people and erode attempts to find a political solution to the conflict, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said earlier that the strikes on the Deir al-Asafir district southeast of the Syrian capital on Thursday had mostly killed women and children.

"France condemns the air strikes carried out by the regime," Nadal told reporters in a weekly briefing. "This attack, which deliberately targeted civilians, including children, show that the regime is continuing its abuses and violating the truce.

"This abject act is designed to terrorise the Syrian people and sap efforts by the international community to find a political solution."