'Increase in airstrikes and shelling against rebel-controlled areas in northwest Syria'

Syria on Friday held funerals for scores of people killed in a drone attack on a graduation ceremony at a military academy in the Homs region the previous day, one of the bloodiest strikes against the military in more than 12 years of civil war. Several weaponised drones hit the Homs Military Academy's courtyard where families were gathered with the new officers on Thursday, minutes after defence minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas had left. Syria declared three days of mourning. There have been no claims of responsibility for the attack. Syria's defence and foreign ministries blamed what they described as terrorist groups, without specifying further, and vowed to respond "with full force". For more on the deadly drone attack on the military academy, FRANCE 24 is joined by Dr. Haid Haid, Consulting Fellow, for the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the Chatham House. Syrian columnist and Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), at King's College London.