This image provided by Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated, shows a wounded man being pulled from the site of a Syrian government airstrike on a gas station in the eastern Damascus suburb of Mleiha, Syria, Jan. 2, 2013.
CAIRO, EGYPT —
Opposition activists in Syria say government warplanes bombed a gasoline station near Damascus on Wednesday, reportedly killing dozens of people as they waited for fuel.
Amateur video showed bystanders running after the aerial assault in the Damascus suburb of Meliha. Young men clawed through twisted pieces of metal to pull victims from the rubble.
One witness told The Associated Press that a government warplane fired a single missile into the station.
The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that dozens of people were killed or wounded when a long line of vehicles waiting for fuel was attacked from the air.
A pro-government journalist reported that the gasoline station was a legitimate target because it was “close to an air defense base under rebel siege.” He said that rebels were seen “carrying shoulder-fired missiles in the area.”
Pro-government forces have bombed other civilian targets, including bakeries in Aleppo and Idlib provinces, in recent months.
Fighting Rages in Syria's Civil War
1/10A child uses a megaphone to lead others in chanting Free Syrian Army slogans during a demonstration in Bustan Al-Qasr, Aleppo, Syria, January 4, 2013.
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
2/10Demonstrators step on a picture of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad during a protest against his regime in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr district, January 4, 2013.
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
3/10Damaged buildings and shops with members of the Syrian army patrolling in the distance in the old city of Aleppo, Syria, January 3, 2013.
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
4/10Men stand amidst wreckage and debris after a car bomb exploded at a crowded gas station in Barzeh al-Balad district in Damascus, in this handout photograph released by SANA on January 3, 2013.
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
5/10A father reacts after the death of two of his children whom activists said were killed by shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in al-Ansari, Aleppo, Syria, January 3, 2013.
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
6/10Free Syrian Army fighters stand near a fire after shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, al-Ansari, Aleppo, Syria, January 3, 2013.
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
7/10Residents wear masks as they search for bodies after shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, al-Ansari, Aleppo, Syria, January 3, 2013
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
8/10Protesters targeted an industrial area in Binh Duong. The crowd set everything on fire, from materials, computers, equipments to other machines.
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
9/10Wadanda aka kama ake zargi da kai harin bam a tashar mota ta Nyanya sune (daga hagu zuwa Dama): Ahmad Rufai Abubakar, Muhammadu Sani, Yau Saidu, Adamu Yusuf da kuma Anas Isah.
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
10/10A boy watches men dig graves for future casualties of Syria's civil conflict at Sheikh Saeed cemetery in Azaz city, December 30, 2012.
Fighting continues in Syria's civil war.
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Government strategy
Opposition activists have accused the government of trying to “starve the civilian population into submission.” Both bread and gasoline, which are normally subsidized by the government, are in short supply.
Riad Kahwaji, who heads the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, said that one strategy of forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad is to terrorize the civilian population into turning against the rebels.
"This form of mass murder is aimed at terrorizing the population to force it to turn against the rebels," he said. "It is part of a strategic bombing that we have seen throughout history in wars between nations, but in this case it is a regime against its own people. It's using the heavy handed, very bloody approach to crush the rebellion. This is the strategy."
Rebel forces attacked the government-controlled Taftanaz Airbase in Idlib province Wednesday. It was at least the third major attack on the air base in recent months. Rebel fighters also continued to besiege and attack the Minnig Airbase, north of Aleppo.
Continued battles
Heavy fighting also has been taking place recently near both of Syria's civilian international airports in Aleppo and Damascus. Civilian air traffic is suspended at both facilities.
Analyst Kahwaji said that many government airbases are under serious rebel pressure.
"In the north, northeast, eastern part of the country and around the capital the rebels have managed to lay siege to many airports and have forced the regime to ground many of its planes," he said. "However, the regime still holds airbases up in the west, on the west coast, in the northwest and north of the capital. These are the airports that are being used now to launch most of the air raids."
The United Nations reported Wednesday that close to 60,000 Syrians have been killed since a popular uprising broke out in March of 2011.
