DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Clashes between the Syrian army and anti-government forces in Douma, near Damascus, left 30 people dead Wednesday, anti-government activists said.
The action followed the shelling of a bakery packed with customers Tuesday that killed at least 20 people and injured 30 others in the embattled city of Aleppo, anti-government activists who witnessed the strike said.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said 62 people were killed throughout the country Wednesday, including 40 in Damascus and outlying areas, 15 in Idlib, four in Hama, two in Deir al-Zor and one in Homs.
The Aleppo victims had been shopping at the al-Zura Bakery in Syria's largest city when it was ripped apart by the incoming shells. The New York Times said horrific video of the immediate aftermath of the shelling was posted on the Internet.
The Times said the shelling likely snuffed out any hope of a cease-fire in Syria for the four-day Eid al-Adha festival, which begins Friday. Lakhdar Brahimi, the envoy for the United Nations and Arab League who had been trying to broker a cease-fire for the holiday, told Voice of American the chances of a brief truce were now "slim."
Syrian forces said a rebel coordinating the movement of opposition groups was arrested outside Hama and his "advanced communication device" was seized, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
