More than 73 people were killed in fighting on Friday between Syrian government forces and opposition rebels south of Aleppo in northern Syria, according to a monitoring group. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that air attacks by government forces and heavy artillery exchanges took place in and around the village of Khan Tuman after opposition fighters launched an attack on Thursday. The observatory said 43 of those killed were fighters with the al-Qaeda-aligned Nusra Front, which fights alongside other opposition groups in northern Syria. Thirty were members of Syrian government forces or allied militias. Aleppo city has been subjected to heavy air strikes by Syrian government forces and has seen fierce fighting in recent weeks, but a 48-hour ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia between pro-government forces and some rebel groups is currently supposed to be in place. On Thursday, air strikes killed at least 28 civilians in a refugee camp near the Turkish border, the observatory said. Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the observatory, said the air strikes that also left 50 civilians wounded targeted a camp near Sarmada in Idlib province, which is controlled by the Nusra Front and its rebel allies. Mamun al-Khatib, director of the Aleppo-based pro-rebel Shahba Press news agency, accused the government of carrying out the attacks. "Two regime aircraft fired four missiles at the camp in the village of al-Kammouna," he said. "Two missiles fell near the the camp, causing people to panic, and two more hit inside, setting a dozen tents on fire." Images shared online by activists showed emergency workers putting out fires among damaged blue-and-white tents. Khatib said the camp was home to thousands of people who had fled fighting in the north of Aleppo province. The air strikes come after an intense diplomatic push to revive a landmark ceasefire and salvage peace efforts to end Syria's five-year conflict. The 27 February nationwide ceasefire between the government and rebels did not cover areas where Nusra is present. Syria's conflict has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions since it started after a brutal crackdown of anti-government protests in 2011.
