CAIRO, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) condemned in a statement on Friday the military operations targeting the civilians in western Syrian in the past two days.
"The military operations that took place in western Syrian violate the international laws and don't serve the goals of bringing peace or stability to the war-torn country," the AL chief's spokesman Mahmoud Afifi said in the statement.
He expressed the AL's concerns over the repercussions of the military strikes, which started in northwestern Syria since last month and has been escalating in the past two days, on humanitarian situation in the country.
The strikes have destroyed several civilian buildings, including schools and hospitals.
He pointed out that anti-terrorism operations are welcomed as long as they do not target civilians or break the laws.
"Combating terrorist groups located in the middle of large numbers of civilians, such as in northern Hama and Idlib, should consider the high humanitarian costs due to the use of airstrikes," the statement reiterated.
On Thursday, the Syrian army advanced in the battles against the rebels in the central province of Hama.
More than 300,000 civilians fled their areas as a result of the battles between the army and the al-Qaida-linked militants in northern Hama countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
