AlHijjah 15, 1433, Oct 31, 2012, SPA -- More than 400 people, including 39 children, died during the four-day United Nations-backed truce in Syria, UPI quoted a human rights organization as saying Wednesday. The London-based Syrian Network for Human Rights said an average of 106 people were killed every day during the truce period for a total of 421 deaths. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi discussed proposals for resolving the situation in Syria Wednesday with UN Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi who is visiting China for the first time as Kofi Annan's replacement as international mediator on Syria, China's official Xinhua news agency reported. Yang said the situation in Syria has reached a crucial stage and resolving it will benefit the entire Middle East as well as the Syrian people. Air raids, clashes and bombings quickly resumed in Syria after the cease-fire for the Eid holiday expired. The opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said 72 people were killed in Damascus and its suburbs Tuesday and 163 people, including 13 children and seven women, were killed across the country. Many of the dead in the Damascus area were killed in Syrian regime airstrikes in Douma, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Douma is a flash-point city 6 miles northeast of Damascus that has been under FSA control since Oct. 18.
