Plumes of smoke rise into the northern Syrian sky.<br/> <br />Footage obtained by Shaam News Network, which cannot be indepedently verified by Reuters, purports to capture planes bombing towns in Idlib.<br/> <br />On the ground, families said they were fleeing the destruction.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED MAN, SAYING<br/> <br />"Missiles weighing 500kg held by balloons were dropped. This resulted in great destruction, great destruction in the town of Kafar Sijnah. We are witnessing mass genocide! children are being killed!"<br/> <br />In Cairo, UN envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi met with Egyptian officials as part of a regional tour to build consensus on the conflict.<br/> <br />Brahimi earlier appealed to officials in Iran, one of President Bashar al-Assad's few remaining allies, to help arrange a ceasefire during the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha.<br/> <br />Since March 2011, more than 30,000 people have died in the uprising the UN classifies as a civil war.
