Syrian fuel station hit ‘kills 54’

At LEAST 54 people were killed when a Syrian airstrike hit a fuel station in the northern province of al-Raqqa yesterday – an area of heavy fighting between government and rebel forces – a British-based violence watchdog claimed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists across Syria
reporting on government violence during the 18-month-old revolt, cited an activist in the region saying that more than 110 people were dead or wounded.

A video published by activists, said to be from al-Raqqa, showed black clouds of smoke rising from the wreckage of the petrol station as bewildered residents examined the scene following the attack by a Syrian air force jet.

It came a day after insurgents seized a border crossing with Turkey some 20 miles away on the northern fringes of al-Raqqa province, consolidating their grip on a frontier through which they ferry arms for battle.

President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have targeted petrol stations in rural towns and villages and along main roads to deprive rebels of fuel.

Earlier, Syria’s information ministry said that a Syrian military helicopter that crashed near the capital had clipped the tail of a Syrian Arab Airlines passenger plane, but the 200 people on board escaped unharmed.