Jets bomb capital as China’s help sought

DAMASCUS/BEIJING

Syria envoy Brahimi (L) walks with Chinese FM Jiechi before meeting. REUTERS photo

Syrian warplanes pounded rebel bastions yesterday after a day of fighting that left more than 180 dead, as U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi urged China to help end the violence.

In a week that has seen unprecedented air strikes, regime fighter jets again pummeled rebel-controlled areas east of Damascus where clashes have raged for months. At least five raids were carried out in the capital’s eastern suburbs, where 30 civilians, including five children, were killed in air strikes and fighting the day before, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

They were among 182 people killed across Syria on Oct. 30, said the Observatory, adding more than 36,000 people had now died in the 19-month conflict. Visiting Beijing, peace envoy Brahimi said he hoped China would play an active role in helping to bring a halt to Syria’s violence.

Russia’s cargo contact

Greeting Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in front of reporters, Brahimi said he hoped “China can play an active role in solving the events in Syria,” without elaborating.

Meanwhile, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official said Moscow is in contact with Turkey to recover a cargo confiscated by Ankara from a Moscow-Damascus passenger plane but so far no progress has been made.