Syria: 18 Die In Bomb Attack, UN Special Envoy Describes Mission As 'Nearly Impossible'

AFP (France), BBC (UK), AL JAZEERA (Qatar)

A Syrian fighter-jet killed 18 people in the rebel-held town of Al-Bab on Monday.

AFP reports that the airstrike on Monday was the latest in a series of attacks on towns and villages in Aleppo province.

Victims of the attack on the building in Al-Bab included 10 men, six women and two children.

The pro-rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has released a statement alleging that 5,440 people have been killed in Syria in August, with at least 26,283 deaths since the uprising began in March 2011.

As fighting escalates across Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi told the BBC that his role as the UN-Arab League special envoy was "nearly impossible."

The former Algerian diplomat was appointed special envoy to Syria after former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan stepped down from the position, similarly describing his work as "mission impossible."

Brahimi told the BBC: "I'm scared of the weight of responsibility. People are already saying: "People are dying and what are you doing?""

Brahimi will meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on September 8. He has refused to call for Assad to step down. He told Al-Jazeera yesterday "it is too early to speak about who should go and who should stay."