At least 44 killed in Syria air strikes

At least 44 people have been killed and 80 wounded in air strikes in northwest Syria.Around 37 civilians were killed in an attack on a vegetable market in Maarat al-Numan, and at least seven people died at a fish market in nearby Kafranbel. Both markets are in areas controlled by Al-Qaeda's Syrian offshoot the Al-Nusra Front.


The Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee said in a statement that the suspected government attacks represent a "dangerous escalation" of the conflict.

The opposition said the strikes reinforce its decision to postpone peace talks, and maintained that a political process cannot happen in the current climate. Syria's main opposition group said on Monday that it is suspending its official participation in UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva because of the government's "violations" of a ceasefire deal agreed in February.