Syria buries dead after mly academy drone attack

HOMS, Syria: Syria began burying its dead on Friday after a drone attack on a military academy graduation ceremony in Homs killed dozens, while Damascus pummelled opposition-held areas in response to the assault by “terrorist organisations”.

In one of the bloodiest single attacks on the army since the start of Syria´s war in 2011, Thursday´s assault came just after the ceremony attended by officers and their families, killing and wounding both military personnel and civilians. State media said on Friday that 89 had died, including 31 women and five children, with 277 other people wounded.

Dozens of distraught victims´ relatives gathered outside the Homs military hospital since the early morning, an AFP correspondent said. A woman in a black dress adorned with white flowers was overwhelmed with grief at the loss of her son.

“Do not go, my beloved,” she cried. “This sleep does not befit you.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, reported a heavier toll of 123 dead, including 54 civilians, 39 of them women and children. It said at least 150 people were wounded.

In a rare move since the war broke out, the government has declared three days of mourning starting Friday, with flags flying at half-mast. Defence Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas attended the first funerals for around 30 people, including both military and civilians.

Military personnel saluted as rows of caskets draped in Syrian flags were carried one by one and placed into ambulances for transportation for burial. The conflict in Syria has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions since it began in 2011, spiralling into a devastating war involving foreign armies, militias and jihadists.