Syria regime's air strikes "unacceptable", UN envoy says

The UN's Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, on Monday condemned as "unacceptable" the weekend bombings at a rebel-held town outside Damascus that killed nearly 100 people. 

"The government's bombing of (Douma) yesterday is devastating," de Mistura said. "Hitting crowded civilian markets killing almost one hundred of its own citizens by a government is unacceptable in any circumstances."

Sunday's series of air strikes on Douma was one of the bloodiest regime attacks in Syria's four-year civil war. The United Nations humanitarian chief, Stephen O'Brien, had earlier said he was "horrified" by the strikes.

De Mistura said Sunday's attacks underscored the need to resume political dialogue to end the conflict that has claimed more than 240,000 lives. "This conflict will have no military solution, as has been proven over the recent years," de Mistura said in a statement.

The UN envoy last month floated an idea to restart stalled peace talks, by inviting Syrians to take part in thematic working groups that could start in September. Previous peace talks in Geneva collapsed in 2012 and 2014, but de Mistura told the Security Council that the UN had an obligation to keep the prospect of dialogue alive.    (AFP)

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