Syria car bomb kills 30, separate blast rocks capital

DAMASCUS (AFP) - A suicide car bombing in central Syria killed at least 30 people on Monday, a watchdog said, also reporting a powerful blast in Damascus, as the Arab League said United Nations (UN) efforts to end the conflict had failed to bring even a "glimmer" of hope.

The UN said it would conduct a major humanitarian operation in the war-torn country, with its mission to Syria describing the need for it as "enormous," having found people in dire need of medical and alimentary aid.

Moscow, one of President Bashar al-Assad's last remaining supporters, announced it would send two planes to Lebanon to evacuate more than 100 Russians out of Syria.

The suicide bombing that targeted a building used by pro-regime militiamen in Salmiyeh, a town in the central province of Hama, killed more than 30 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.