Syria conflict: Air strike on refugee camp ‚kills dozens‘

Dozens of people are reported to have been killed in an air strike on a refugee camp in rebel-held northern Syria, monitors and witnesses say. Images on social media showed tents destroyed at the Kamouna camp near Sarmada in Idlib province, close to the Turkish border. Some reports say the attack was by Syrian or Russian warplanes but this has not been confirmed.

The strike comes a day after the extension of a truce was confirmed. The Syrian military and non-jihadist rebel forces had agreed to a temporary truce around the the city of Aleppo, following pressure from the US and Russia.

A nationwide cessation of hostilities has been in place since February, but it has come under severe pressure recently, particularly around Aleppo, where some 300 people have died in clashes over the past two weeks.

The UN has warned that if the nationwide cessation fails, it will be „catastrophic“ and could send 400,000 more people heading for refuge at the border with Turkey.

Smouldering ground

he Kamouna camp for the internally displaced is about 4km from Sarmada and 10km from the Turkish border.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, an opposition activist network, said some 30 people had been killed and dozens more wounded in the attack there.

Images on its Facebook page showed the aftermath of fires among the blue tents in the camp, with the ground still smouldering.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that 28 people had been killed, including women and children, and that 50 more were wounded.

The fighting in Aleppo early this week has been the most intense there for more than a year.

The Observatory said rebels advanced into government-held western districts on Tuesday night but were pushed back by Wednesday morning.

Rebels began observing a ceasefire there on Wednesday and the Syrian military announced a 48-hour truce in the city from Thursday morning.

The nationwide partial truce agreement does not include so-called Islamic State or the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.