Massacre near Damascus; 343 deaths on Syria’s deadliest day

Zeenews Bureau

Damascus: A Syrian opposition group has claimed that Wednesday was the deadliest day Syrian conflict has witnesses so far, with a massacre in town near Damascus adding to the nationwide death toll that hit a horrific 343. As per a report by CNN, an opposition group named Local Coordination Committes (LCC) claims that Syrian regime is willing to commit genocide. Out of the total death count of 343, 162 were reported dead in Damascus and nearby suburbs. LCC also mentioned of a massacre in a Syrian town named al-Thiabieh that killed a whopping 107. Al Thiabieh town is near the Damascus suburb of Saida Zaynab, which is home to many of Syria`s Shiite minority and home to a number of Hezbollah members. "The staggering numbers are horrific but the world also needs to know that there is increasing sexual torture and more children being tortured," said Rafif Jouejati, a spokeswoman for the Local Coordination Committees of Syria. An opposition group in Al Thiabieh said that the attack that killed 107 was spread over four days. The attack began on Sunday, when Syrian regime troops started shelling the town. The military intensified shelling after counterattacks from rebels of Free Syrian Army, said Abu Jaffer, an opposition member said. He further added that by Wednesday morning, the FSA soldiers had retreated and told the residents to evacuate the town. Abu Jaffer further added that Syrian troops raided individual homes, killing several people in the “massacre”. As Wednesday descended, all left in the town were demolished buildings and dead bodies. A YouTube video showed than a dozen corpses, with blood stained clothes, lying on the ground. Several appeared to have been shot in the head. Local Coordination Committees of Syria has described the killings in the town as a "massacre." LCC added that August 25 was the second-deadliest day, when 330 people were killed. Wednesday’s “massacre” came after rebels bombed military headquarter building at Damascus, killing four guards and wounding 14. Over the past few months, the rebels have increasingly targeted security sites and symbols of regime power in a bid to turn the tide in the fighting, but the regime forces have acted with much more aggression killing many. At least 30, 000 have been killed during 18 months of uprising ever since the conflict began in March 2011, opposition activists say. With Agency Inputs