Indiscriminate Attacks Increase in Syria, Amnesty Reports

Indiscriminate Attacks Increase in Syria, Amnesty Reports: Amnesty International said a 10-day visit to the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo found government air and artillery strikes were killing children in their homes, while others were hit while lining up outside bakeries as food becomes scarce. �The use of imprecise weapons, such as unguided bombs, artillery shells and mortars by government forces has dramatically increased the danger for civilians,� Donatella Rovera, an Amnesty International adviser who recently returned from Aleppo, said today in a press release accompanying a report by the London-based human-rights group. �The overwhelming majority of victims were killed in air strikes and artillery attacks by government forces� which had killed or injured �scores� of civilians including many children, the group said. �Opposition fighters, while mostly fighting with short-range light weapons, have at times also used imprecise or indiscriminate weapons (such as mortars and home- made rockets) that equally pose a danger to civilians,� it said. International efforts have failed to halt a 17-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has claimed more than 23,000 lives. The Amnesty report also highlights what the group called a �sharp increase in extrajudicial and summary executions of civilians not involved in the conflict� by Assad�s forces.