54 Syrian civilians killed in suspected Russian strikes

A woman holds a picture of journalist Mohammed Al Qeq, who has been on a hunger strike in an Israeli jail for 64 days, at a rally in Ramallah.

Suspected Russian air strikes killed at least 54 civilians in rebel- and militant-held areas of Syria in the past 24 hours, a monitoring group said Thursday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said strikes on Wednesday had killed 29 civilians, including nine women and three children, in villages controlled by Daesh group in the eastern Deir Ezzor province and its provincial capital of the same name.
The strikes killed another 15 civilians, including five young brothers, in and around the city of Al Bab, a Daesh bastion in the northern province of Aleppo, the Observatory said.
Ten more civilians, including seven children, were killed in Russian strikes in Ghanto, a town held by rebels in the central province of Homs, it said.
The Britain-based monitor relies on a network of activists on the ground and says it distinguishes between Syrian, Russian and US-led coalition aircraft based on flight patterns, as well as the type of planes and ordnance used.
Russia launched air strikes in Syria in September in support of President Bashar Al Assad's government, a key ally. The US-led coalition has been carrying out strikes against Daesh targets in Syria and Iraq since the summer of 2014.
Russian backing has helped Assad's forces make significant advances in recent months and the Observatory said on Thursday that Syrian troops had moved to within eight kilometres of Al Bab.
It was the closest pro-government forces had been to the city, a key Daesh stronghold in Aleppo, since 2012, it said.
Al Bab, about 30 kilometres south of the Turkish border, fell to rebel forces in July 2012 and was taken over by Daesh in November 2013.
Syrian forces are seeking to sever Daesh-held territory in Aleppo province from that held by the group in neighbouring Raqa.
The Observatory said last week that Russian strikes in Syria had killed more than 1,000 civilians, including around 200 children, since September.
Russia has denounced accusations that its raids have killed large numbers of civilians as "absurd".
The Observatory says the US-led strikes have killed 322 civilians, including more than 90 children.
Meanwhile, a Syria donors' conference in London next week will urge participating countries to double the amount of money they are giving to tackle the humanitarian crisis, Downing Street said on Wednesday.
On a call between the leaders of Britain, Germany and Norway, they agreed "that all countries in attendance should look to at least double their 2015 financial contribution to the crisis," Prime Minister David Cameron's office said in a statement. - AFP

• MENA