A member of the European Union's delegation in Syria has been killed in a rocket attack, the EU announced Wednesday, DPA reported.
"I have learned today with great sadness of the tragic death on March 12 of Ahmad Shihadeh ... He was killed during a rocket attack on the Damascus suburb of Daraya, where he lived," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.
President Bashar al-Assad's forces have staged frequent attacks on Daraya recently to try drive out rebels holed up in the town.
"Ahmad died while providing humanitarian help to the community of Daraya. Ahmad was known for his courage and selflessness," Ashton added.
Government forces Wednesday intensified shelling of several suburban Damascus areas believed to be rebel strongholds, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Mortar shells hit the district of al-Fahma in central Damascus, injuring civilians and causing material damage, the Britain-based organization said.
Opposition forces have been fighting troops in and around Damascus for months, raising the possibility al-Assad could lose control of the city.
Opposition activists said Wednesday that Major General Anwar Jadan, a commander of the Syrian army in the Damascus area of Jubr, had been killed in the fighting.
In London, a charity said Syria's two-year-old conflict had afflicted some 2 million children trapped inside the country with malnutrition, disease and trauma.
Young boys are being used "as porters, runners and human shields" by armed groups, while some girls are being married off early to protect them from a widely perceived threat of sexual violence, said Save the Children.
In the report "Childhood under Fire", the organization said many children were struggling to find "enough to eat, living in barns, parks and caves, and are unable to go to school."
More than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, according to the United Nations.
The worsening humanitarian crisis has led to renewed debate in the West around the arming of Syria's rebels.
Russia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday Moscow would oppose any attempt by Britain to arm Syrian rebels.
"In our point of view it is a violation of international law," Lavrov told reporters in London after talks with his British counterpart William Hague and both countries defence ministers.
"We have never ruled out anything in the future," Foreign Secretary William Hague said, assuring any decision Britain took "will be legal."
President Bashar al-Assad's forces have staged frequent attacks on Daraya recently to try drive out rebels holed up in the town.
"Ahmad died while providing humanitarian help to the community of Daraya. Ahmad was known for his courage and selflessness," Ashton added.
Government forces Wednesday intensified shelling of several suburban Damascus areas believed to be rebel strongholds, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Mortar shells hit the district of al-Fahma in central Damascus, injuring civilians and causing material damage, the Britain-based organization said.
Opposition forces have been fighting troops in and around Damascus for months, raising the possibility al-Assad could lose control of the city.
Opposition activists said Wednesday that Major General Anwar Jadan, a commander of the Syrian army in the Damascus area of Jubr, had been killed in the fighting.
In London, a charity said Syria's two-year-old conflict had afflicted some 2 million children trapped inside the country with malnutrition, disease and trauma.
Young boys are being used "as porters, runners and human shields" by armed groups, while some girls are being married off early to protect them from a widely perceived threat of sexual violence, said Save the Children.
In the report "Childhood under Fire", the organization said many children were struggling to find "enough to eat, living in barns, parks and caves, and are unable to go to school."
More than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, according to the United Nations.
The worsening humanitarian crisis has led to renewed debate in the West around the arming of Syria's rebels.
Russia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday Moscow would oppose any attempt by Britain to arm Syrian rebels.
"In our point of view it is a violation of international law," Lavrov told reporters in London after talks with his British counterpart William Hague and both countries defence ministers.
"We have never ruled out anything in the future," Foreign Secretary William Hague said, assuring any decision Britain took "will be legal."
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