Missile strike kills 10 in Aleppo

At least 10 people were killed after a missile struck a bus in the rebel-held area of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, activists said.

Another missile struck nearby in the al-Bab area of Aleppo on Tuesday as residents rushed to carry out the wounded from the bus, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The latest attack brings an end to a year of bloodshed between rebels and President Assad's regime that has seen thousands killed and injured.

Since 15 December, the Syrian forces have embarked on a campaign targeting rebel-held Aleppo, mostly by dropping explosive-laden barrels over neighbourhoods.

The latest attack brings an end to a year of bloodshed between rebels and forces loyal to President Assad. The civil war has killed over 100,000 people and spurred the largest refugee crisis in a generation with 2.2 million refugees leaving the war-torn country.

On 21 August, over 1,429 people had been killed by a sarin gas attack. Among the dead were children, women and civilians. The attack brought out international condemnation and strong reactions,  particularly by US President Barack Obama who sought to strike the Syrian chemical weapons installations.

Meanwhile rebels have grown more fragmented with rival Islamist and secular-leaning factions even clashing with each other.

The United Nations under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs Valerie Amos said she was "extremely concerned with the deteriorating humanitarian situation" there.

"The insecurity continues to have a major impact on our efforts to reach people with life-saving assistance," Amos said, "I join UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon in strongly condemning the attacks against civilians in Aleppo and in many other parts of Syria."

The Observatory said that over 130,000 people have been killed since Syria's uprising began in March with the UN putting the figures at 100,000. Among the dead, 66,000 were civilians including some 7,000 children.

Peace talks are set for Geneva early this year.