A wounded boy is carried to a hospital after an airstrike by government forces in Maaret al-Numan in Syria on Thursday.
- NEW: More than 80 bodies are found in a mass grave in Deir Ezzor, an opposition group says
- They are among the 245 reported dead on Friday
- U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi arrives in Damascus
- Interference to broadcasts coming from Syria, a satellite provider says
(CNN) -- A U.N.-Arab League envoy working for a cease-fire in Syria arrived in Damascus on Friday as warplanes pounded rebels and fighting engulfed the nation.
Lakhdar Brahimi "eventually" will be meeting President Bashar al-Assad during a trip expected to last several days, said Brahimi's spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi.
Brahimi wants to forge a cease-fire by Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday that arrives Thursday, and has been meeting with Middle East leaders to stoke momentum for stopping the violence.
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"The hurdles are huge. We are appealing to the government to see the benefit of a period of calm where people can breathe. There's not going to be any joy in Eid -- exuberance amongst the Syrian people -- but at least they might bury less than a hundred people a day," Fawzi said, referring to the crushing daily death tolls.
Syria youths react following an airstrike by Syrian government forces in Maaret al-Numaan on Thursday, October 18. Syrian regime warplanes launched a new wave of strikes on the northwestern town, seized by rebels last week, an AFP correspondent reported. Click through these photos from October, and see September photos of the conflict.
A wounded Syrian boy is carried to the hospital following Thursday's airstrike in Maaret al-Numaan.
A Syrian rebel fighter mans an anti-aircraft heavy machine gun as he heads to the frontline in al-Bab near Aleppo on Wednesday. October 17. Rebels downed a helicopter in fierce fighting Wednesday with troops seeking to retake a key Syrian town, a watchdog said.
Syrian rebel fighters on Wednesday ride a motorcycle in Maaret al-Numan, an area under the control of rebel fighters in the northwestern Idlib province.
A Syrian rebel fighter holds a gun as he guards a post during clashes with government forces in Aleppo on Wednesday.
A handout photo from the Shaam News Network shows smoke rising after a Syrian Air Force fighter jet fired missiles at the suburbs of the northern province of Idlib, Syria, on Tuesday, October 16. Click through the gallery to view images of the war-torn country in October. See photographs from September.
Members of the Free Syrian Army check for snipers in the old part of Aleppo, Tuesday.
Damaged buildings are seen after they were fired upon by a Syrian government forces near the northern province of Idlib, Tuesday.
A Syrian man walks past destroyed buildings following shelling by regime forces in Aleppo on Monday, October 15.
A Free Syrian Army fighter climbs under barbed wire as he trains at their camp in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib in an area under the control of rebel fighters on Monday.
A young fighter climbs along a rope as he trains at a Free Syrian Army camp in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Monday.
Syrian rebels take cover during clashes with regime forces at the historic Umayyad Mosque in the old city of Aleppo hours before the Syrian army retook control of the complex on Sunday, October 14.
A Syrian rebel walks inside a burnt section of the Umayyad Mosque. Opposition activists reported that the 12th-century mosque was set afire during heavy fighting on Saturday, October 13.
A Syrian opposition fighter stands near a post in Aleppo on Thursday, October 11.
Syrians carry a wounded girl into a hospital in Aleppo on Thursday.
A heavily armed Syrian opposition fighter stands near a post in Aleppo on Thursday.
A Syrian man walks through rubble in Aleppo on Thursday.
A Syrian man and boy ride a horse cart in Aleppo on Thursday.
Smoke billows from buildings following shelling by government forces in Aleppo on Thursday.
Syrian people carry bread as they walk in the streets of Aleppo on Thursday.
Bodies of Syrian civilians lie in the back of a truck outside a hospital following shelling by Syrian government forces during clashes with opposition fighters in Aleppo on Thursday.
Syrian civilians walk in front of damaged buildings in Aleppo on Thursday.
Syrian opposition fighters walk in the streets of Aleppo on Thursday.
Syrian government forces take cover during clashes with rebel fighters at the Karam al-Jabal neighborhood in Aleppo on Thursday.
A Syrian opposition fighter flashes the sign for victory as he guards a post with his comrades in Aleppo on Thursday.
A Syrian man mourns the death of his father, who was killed during a government attack in Aleppo on Wednesday, October 10.
Syrian youths walk past graffiti in the rebel-held city of Minbej on Wednesday.
A Syrian rebel fighter holds a cigarette and prayer beads in Aleppo on Tuesday, October 9.
A Syrian man carries the body of his 5-year-old son, Mohammed Mustafa, outside a hospital after shelling by Syrian government forces in Aleppo on Tuesday.
An injured Syrian woman rides to a hospital after an airstrike by regime forces in Aleppo on Tuesday.
A Syrian rebel commander prays in a damaged mosque during clashes with government forces on Tuesday in Aleppo.
A rubble-filled street is seen during clashes between rebel fighters and Syrian government forces in the Saif al-Dawla district of Aleppo on Tuesday.
Relatives wheel a injured boy outside a hospital on Tuesday in Aleppo.
A Syrian rebel fighter takes position inside a house in Aleppo during clashes with government forces on Tuesday.
A Syrian man watches an army fighter jet flies over Aleppo on Monday, October 8.
A Syrian army fighter jet flies over the northern city of Aleppo on Monday.
A wounded Syrian rebel fighter holds his blood-stained hands as he receives treatment at a hospital near the frontline in the city of Aleppo on Monday, October 7.
Abdul Razzak from the Aleppo News talks on a walkie talkie in Aleppo on Monday.
Syrian rebels take up positions inside a building during clashes with government forces in Aleppo on Saturday, October 6.
Syrian members of the Al-Saiqa rebel brigade clean weapons on Saturday before going to the front line in Aleppo.
A Syrian rebel runs across a heavily damaged street to dodge sniper fire during clashes on Saturday.
Syrian rebels patrol a neighborhood in Aleppo on Friday, October 5.
A Syrian demonstrator shouts during an anti-regime protest in Aleppo on Friday. Tensions rippled across Turkey a day after Syrian shells struck a Turkish border town and killed five people.
A Syrian rebel takes position during clashes with government forces in Aleppo on Friday.
An injured Free Syrian Army fighter rests after receiving treatment at Dar al Shifa hospital in Aleppo on Thursday, October 4.
A child covers his wounds from a Syrian army sniper at Dar al Shifa hospital on Thursday.
A Free Syrian Army figther cries after one of his friends was injured in fighting with government forces outside the Dar El Shifa hospital on Thursday.
A Dar El Shifa worker cleans the floor outside the hospital in Aleppo on Thursday.
Syrian rebel fighters look at a multirocket launcher in Tal Abyadh, a Syrian town close to the Turkish border, on Thursday.
Rebels climb the stairs of a destroyed building Thursday in Tal Abyadh.
Smoke rises from the explosion area after several Syrian shells crashed inside the town of Akcakale in Turkey, killing at least five people on Wednesday, October 3. It wasn't the first deadly cross-border incident between the two neighbors during the 18-month-long uprising in Syria.
A police officer is injured in Wednesday's attack on Akcakale in Turkey's Sanliurfa province.
Three car bombs destroyed the area around a military officers' club and a hotel in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday. At least 40 people were killed and 90 wounded, most of them soldiers, a monitoring group said.
Car bomb explosions on Wednesday left a crater in the ground.
A nurse helps treat a 7-year-old girl who's neck was badly wounded by shrapnel at the Dar Al Shifaa hospital in Aleppo on Monday, October 1.
Friends lay a rebel fighter on a gurney after he was shot in the chest during heavy battles in the Midan neighborhood on Monday. See photographs from September.
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Brahimi is appealing to the Syrian government to take the lead and make the first move.
"Of course, we appeal to the government to start first -- as the stronger party -- and then the opposition immediately after," Fawzi said. "Let's see what happens on the ground. There are no guarantees for anything in this conflict. They think they can shoot it out. We think they can't."
The United Nations and the League of Arab States, in a joint statement, called for support of Brahimi's cease-fire plan.
"This step needs to be sustained. It could create the space to allow a peaceful political process that realizes the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people for democracy, equality and justice," the statement said.
More than 30,000 people have been killed in the 19-month conflict as scores have died daily in fighting. At least 245 people, including 20 children, were found dead across Syria on Friday, the opposition Local Coordination Committees said.
More than 80 of those killed were discovered in a mass grave "after they were field executed" in Deir Ezzor, the LCC said.
Ous al-Arbi, an activist in Deir Ezzor who visited the site, said women and children were among the dead. Some had been "slaughtered" and "burned," while others had their hands and other body parts "cut off by axes," he said.
The bodies were located near a street that is used to get out of the city, al-Arbi said. They were taken to an open space for identification.
"The doctors who were with us said the bodies appear to have been field executed first, then later some of them were burned. They also said some of the bodies are only a day old, and others a month old," al-Arbi said.
Meanwhile, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian jets continued to shell towns and villages in Idlib province, in the north.
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Warplanes targeted rebel fighters on the outskirts of a military camp. They also struck the key town of Maaret al-Numan and nearby villages, the observatory said.
Maaret al-Numan is strategically important because a highway from Damascus to Aleppo runs through the town. The Syrian army uses the highway to provide reinforcements in the north.
The observatory also reported injuries from heavy clashes in the Idlib town of Salqeen.
Fighting also flared in Aleppo. The Syrian army shelled the al-Sakhour neighborhood and fought to oust rebels there. Rebels shelled the government-controlled neighborhood of al-Midan with mortars and battled the troops.
The LCC also reported "intense" gunfire by security forces against demonstrators in Damascus.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said government soldiers destroyed a water tank truck loaded with explosives driven by a "suicide terrorist" in Idlib. It also said it killed two "terrorists," one of whom was Lebanese.
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As Syria endures tough Western sanctions over the government's actions, reports have emerged that international broadcasts are being jammed from inside the country.
"Deliberate and intermittent interference" to international broadcasters' signals "is coming from within Syria," satellite provider Eutelsat said Friday.
The BBC said that it and other broadcasters are "experiencing deliberate, intermittent interference to its transmissions to audiences in Europe and the Middle East."
"Deliberate interference such as the jamming of transmissions is a blatant violation of international regulations concerning the use of satellites and we strongly condemn any practice designed to disrupt audiences' free access to news and information," the BBC said.
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CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, Yousuf Basil, Joe Sterling, Amir Ahmed, Karen Smith and Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report.
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