US says Assad has 'no legitimacy' after Damascus suburb airstrike

The US state department has strongly condemned Syrian government airstrikes on the Douma suburb of Damascus and described Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as having "no legitimacy".

"Yesterday’s air strikes, following its other recent market bombings and attacks on medical facilities, demonstrate the regime's disregard for human life," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement on Monday. 

"As we have said, Assad has no legitimacy to lead the Syrian people."

At least 96 people were killed in the air raids on Sunday, a monitor said, as the UN's top humanitarian chief held talks with government officials.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said at least 200 people were also injured in a string of 10 strikes on the rebel-held town of Douma.

Civilians accounted for most of those killed, it said, and the death toll was expected to rise further because many of the wounded were in serious condition.

On Monday, the Observatory stated the latest figures from the death toll.

"The toll documented by the Observatory has risen to 96 people, including at least two women and four children," the Britain-based monitoring group said.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said locals had gathered after a first strike hit a market in the town to help evacuate the wounded when the additional raids hit.

At least six raids hit the market, with the others striking nearby in the centre of town, Abdel Rahman said.

The opposition National Coalition accused the government of "deliberately" targeting civilians in Douma.

"Assad's jet fighters fired missiles on marketplaces at (a) busy time when they are densely crowded with the intention of inflicting as many civilian casualties as possible," a statement read.

It also said the international community's failure to respond to such atrocities contributed to the violence.

Coalition head Khaled Khoja said the Assad government's "boldness in committing massacres against civilians for 53 consecutive months depends on international silence that amounts to complicity".

On Monday, the UN's humanitarian chief fiercely condemned attacks against civilians in Syria at a press conference in Damascus.

"I am horrified by the total disrespect for civilian life in this conflict," Stephen O'Brien said in a statement.

O'Brien's press conference concluded his three-day visit to Damascus, his first to the war-torn country since his appointment in May.  

In a statement released by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, O'Brien appealed "to each and every party to this protracted conflict to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law."

The statement said O'Brien had discussed strengthening the UN's humanitarian operations with Syrian officials, but remained "concerned" about 4.6 million Syrians stuck in hard-to-reach and besieged zones.

Security Council calls for peace talks

Also Monday, the UN Security Council Monday backed a push for Syrian peace talks.

The unanimously approved Security Council statement, the first of its kind in two years, was described as "historic" by Alexis Lamek, France's Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations.

At least four million Syrians have been forced to flee the country, and millions of others are internally displaced.