Many civilians feared dead as rebels capture town near DamascusDecember 13, 2013 - 18:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Syria's state media and an opposition activist group said many civilians are feared dead in a town near Damascus after parts of it were captured by Islamic rebels, according to the Associated Press. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has documented the names of 19 civilians killed by hard-liners over the past two days in Adra, northeast of Damascus. The Observatory says the civilians were minority Alawite and Druse. Syrian Minister of Social Affairs Kinda Shammat described on Friday what happened in Adra as a "massacre." Shammat told Syrian TV that the army was now carrying out an operation in the area, an industrial section of the town. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |