Hundreds of bodies are reported to have been found in Syria – after government forces launched a deadly assault to the southwest of Damascus.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says over 320 bodies have been found at a mosque in the town of Daraya on the outskirts of the capital.
Syrian state television says the town is being ‘purified of terrorist remnants.’
Further heavy fighting has been reported in Aleppo – where tanks and combat helicopters have targeted rebel strongholds.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Costello is travelling to Jordan today – to assess the humanitarian situation at the country’s border with Syria – where thousands of Syrian people have been living in refugee camps.
The camp provides shelter to more than 7,000 refugees, primarily for women and children, but hundreds more arrive every day and conditions are tough in the desert environment where temperatures reach 45 degrees.
Minister Costello says the Government has already provided 500 thousand euro in Irish Aid funding for the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the UN World Food Programme.
