Syria conflict: military firing ballistic missiles at populated areas, killing hundreds of civilians: watchdog

BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch says that the Syrian army is firing ballistic missiles at populated areas where it is fighting against the rebels, killing hundreds of civilians.

The US group said in a report released on Monday that it has investigated nine apparent missile attacks that killed at least 215 people, half of them children, between February and July.

HRW activists visited sites of seven of the nine attacks. There no apparent military targets near the inspected sites, said the group in a statement, calling for President Bashar Assad to stop indiscriminate attacks.

Government officials can not immediately be reached for comment. The army has repeatedly denied that is against civilians during the conflict in two years, saying that its troops are fighting "terrorists" hiding in civilian areas.

HuffPost related:

Subscribe

Pervez Musharraf Granted Bail In Judge Firing Case, Remains Under House Arrest

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
In this Monday, April 15, 2013 photo, Pakistan's former President and military ruler Pervez Musharraf gestures during a party meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

ISLAMABAD — A defense lawyer says a court has granted bail to Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in a case involving his allegedly unconstitutional 2007 decision to fire senior judges.

But Malik Qamar Afzal says that despite Tuesday's court ruling, Musharraf must stay under house arrest due to another case against him, which relates to the 2006 killing of an ethnic Baluch nationalist leader.

He says Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan for about nine years after staging a 1999 military coup, will be a free man if he gets bail in connection with that case.

The retired general was arrested in April, weeks after he returned to Pakistan after four years in self-imposed exile. He'd hoped to make a political comeback, but authorities did not let him contest May 11 elections.

Related on HuffPost:

Get Alerts