Damascus attack kills 29 children

A mortar attack has killed 29 pupils and a teacher in a Damascus school, according to state media.

The official news agency SANA blamed the attack on terrorists, the term it uses for rebels who are fighting to topple the government.

The bloodshed comes as Syrian forces fired artillery at rebel targets in and around the capital and the international community grew increasingly alarmed about the regime’s chemical weapons stocks.

Syrian rebels have made gains in recent weeks, overrunning military bases and bringing the fight to Damascus. Since Thursday, the capital has seen some of the heaviest fighting since July, killing scores of people, forcing international flights to turn back and prompting the United Nations to withdraw most of its international staff.

“The push to take Damascus is a real one, and intense pressure to take control of the city is part of a major strategic shift by the rebel commanders’ strategy,” said Mustafa Alani, a Middle East analyst from the Geneva-based Gulf Research Centre. “They have realised that without bringing the fight to Damascus, the regime will not collapse.”

US intelligence has detected signs the regime was moving chemical weapons components around within several sites in recent days.

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that “if anybody uses chemical weapons, I would expect an immediate reaction from the international community.”

Syria is believed to have hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas and the more lethal nerve agents sarin and VX.

In the Damascus area, the Britain-based opposition activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes between rebels and troops loyal to president Bashar Assad were taking place in Beit Saham, Akraba and Yalda suburbs as well as near the international airport.

the Damascus suburbs, which have been opposition strongholds since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, have been the scene of heavy fighting since last week following the start of an army offensive to regain lost territory around the capital. Assad’s forces have so far repelled major rebel advances on the capital, though their hold may be slipping.