Smoke rises above rebel-held areas of the city of Saida, some 10 kilometers east of Daraa, during reported airstrikes by Syrian regime forces on July 4, 2018. AFP / Mohamad Abazeed
Beirut: The Syrian government and its Russian ally pounded rebel-held areas of the southern province of Daraa on Thursday with the heaviest air strikes of a two-week-old offensive, a monitor said.
"Hundreds" of missiles and barrel bombs were unleashed before dawn by both Syrian and Russian aircraft, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, after talks on voluntary rebel surrenders broke down on Wednesday.
