Syrian army raids Palestinian refugee camp

Syrian armed forces have shelled al-Hajar al-Aswad and the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in the capital Damascus, according to pro-state media reports.

Addounia TV reported that the Syrian army had also carried out hundreds of arrests on Thursday of what it called "terrorists" at al-Talnaa garden and al-Waseem mosque in the Yarmouk refugee camp.

The Syrian government uses the term "terrorists" as a reference to members of the armed opposition who are fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

In other developments, at least 30 civilians were reported killed in a massive explosion in northeast Syria, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.

Dozens more people were wounded in the blast at a petrol station in the northeastern village of Ain Issa, the group said.

Activists said the incident was an air strike.

"At least 30 people were killed and 83 were injured, although unconfirmed sources say the number of dead was actually more than 50," Rami Abdel Rahman, the group's director, said.

"Lawyers and activists in the area say the blast was caused by aerial bombardment," SOHR added.

Activists said the petrol station in the village of Ain Issa, in Raqa province, was hit by a warplane.

"The petrol station is the only one that is still open to customers in the area, and it was packed," a media activist who identified himself as Abu Muawiya told the AFP news agency via Skype.

"It was hit by a fighter jet. The only reason why it would strike the petrol station with a jet is to kill the highest number of people possible," he charged.

It was impossible to verify the claim due to state restrictions on the media.

Helicopter 'downed'

Separately, state media blamed a helicopter gunship crash on an accident although monitors said rebels shot it down.

The military helicopter that went down outside Damascus crashed after an accident with a civilian aircraft, state television said.

"This morning's helicopter crash resulted from an accident in the air when the helicopter's rotor clipped the tail of a Syrian Air plane carrying 200 passengers," it said.

It cited air traffic controllers at Damascus airport and Syrian Air as saying the airliner landed safely.

Earlier, the SOHR reported the helicopter had been downed by rebels following a series of explosions in the restive town of Douma, northeast of the capital.

On the political front, diplomats from more than 60 nations and the Arab League met in The Hague, Netherlands, to toughen and improve co-ordination of sanctions against Assad's regime.

"We need vigorous implementation," Uri Rosenthal, Netherlands foreign minister, told the opening of the "Friends of Syria" working group.

"Sanctions will only have an impact if they are carried out effectively. That is how we can make a difference."

The "Friends of Syria" group has already held three meetings at ministerial level in Tunis, Istanbul and Paris. Another is planned in Morocco in October and another later in Italy.

The international community has struggled to find common ground on ways to halt the bloodshed, with Russia and China vetoing three UN Security Council resolutions condemning or threatening sanctions against the Assad regime.

Hostile propaganda

The latest developments came amid criticism by Syrian ambassador to the UN of a report that said his country's forces were guilty of committing violence against children caught up in the 18-month uprising.

Ambassador Bashar Jaafari called the allegations made in the UNICEF report hostile propaganda, and said armed groups were violating the rights of children, not the government.

"We would also have preferred for the Special Representative for the Secretary General to include in the paragraphs addressing the Syrian Arab Republic the acts that have been perpetrated by armed terrorist groups that have been sustained and financed by foreign parties," Jaafari said on Wednesday.

"These groups have destroyed more than 2,600 schools and kindergartens. They have also targeted health centers. These are acts that are detailed in UNICEF reports.

"It is these armed groups who are violating the rights of Syria's children."

As new diplomatic efforts are made outside the country, the violence within Syria rages on, with activists reporting renewed shelling in al-Bab town in Aleppo province and more fighting in Douma, a battleground town near Damascus, the capital.

'Peace talks'

Meanwhile, Iran's parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, said that his country had held talks with Syrian opposition groups, according to a transcript of an interview released by the UK's Financial Times.

In the interview, published on Wednesday, Larijani said according to reports he received there was contact with the Muslim Brotherhood of Syria "to bring about peace and to support necessary reforms".

It was unclear when the discussions, held in Tehran, took place or whether they yielded any progress.

Larijani described the Syrian opposition as "multi-layered," without a unified leader. "They have various intentions and opinions," he told the newspaper.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies