Syrian missile attack on market kills at least 40 people

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says government troops fired 12 missiles in Douma, near Damascus

Smoke rises after a Syrian army helicopter strike on Darayya district in Damascus this week. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Agencies in Beirut-Friday 30 October 2015

At least 40 people have been killed and about 100 wounded after Syrian government forces fired missiles into a market near Damascus, according to a conflict monitor and a local rescue group.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces fired 12 missiles in Douma, 10 miles north-east of the capital.

The Syrian Civil Defence group, which posted a picture on its Facebook page showing about a dozen bloodied bodies, said more than 45 people had died in the attack.

Fires can be seen burning as people in Douma try to salvage items from the marketplace

Douma has suffered intense bombardment in recent months in a wave of strikes. It is home to the Jaysh al-Islam rebel group, also known as Islam Army, which has claimed responsibility in the past for firing rockets on Damascus, the seat of Bashar al-Assad’s presidency.

In August, airstrikes on Douma were said to have killed around 100 people, provoking sharp rebuke from the UN and other officials. It has been held by anti-Assad rebels since the early days of Syria’s conflict.

Many of Douma’s residents have fled the four-year conflict, moving to nearby rural areas. Medics say they have struggled to cope with large numbers of wounded people in the intensified strikes.

The attack was a stark reminder of the enormous civilian suffering, on a marathon day of peace talks in Vienna, with Iran joining rivals Saudi Arabia and the US to try to orchestrate an end to the Syrian conflict.

What began in March 2011 as mostly peaceful protests escalated into a full-scale civil war after a massive government crackdown. The war has claimed more than 250,000 lives and displaced up to a third of Syria’s pre-war population.