Shock reverberates as Syrian bakery obliterated

There is not much left that is recognisable after a bakery has been obliterated a missile. This was the case at Halfaya in Hama in central Syria. The area was seized by rebel forces last week. Activists say the province is being pounded by the government air force in retaliation. Food shortages mean around 1000 people were queuing for bread when it is said a government missile hit the building. At least 60 people have been killed. Given the numbers wounded, that death toll is likely to rise. A force of 200 rebels, meanwhile, has seized a military base in the north of the country. They seized a cache of weapons including two field guns, three anti-aircraft guns and dozens of Kalashnikov assault rifles. Amid the ongoing carnage, the UN-backed crisis mediator Lakhdar Brahimi has arrived for more talks. He is expected to meet President Bashar al-Assad later on Monday. Western powers and some Arab countries have repeatedly demanded that Assad step down.