Beirut, Jan 22 (IANS/EFE): At least 20 people have been killed in airstrikes by the government forces in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported Thursday.

The forces, loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, dropped barrel bombs Wednesday in the suburbs of the city of Homs, leaving 13 people dead, including two children and two women.

Barrel bombs are oil drums or similar containers packed with explosives and shrapnel such as nails, bolts or other pieces of metal.

The other victims were killed in a bombing by military aircraft in the industrial area of the village of Tell Refaat in Aleppo.

The authorities launched 5,012 air raids in the past three months in various provinces, resulting in the death of at least 1,057 civilians, including 239 children, based on the statistics published by SOHR earlier this week.

More than 2,00,000 people have died since the conflict began in Syria in March 2011, according to the United Nations.