The United Nations observer mission in Syria will expire this weekend and will not be extended, France's Ambassador to the UN, Gerard Araud, told reporters Thursday. 
 
 The news comes as the Syrian government pounded the country's largest city Thursday, using aerial forces to shell neighborhoods and intensifying the siege that has become a focal point of the country's civil war. 
 
 CNN inside Syria: Nobody imagined it would turn into this 
 
 Meanwhile, in neighboring Lebanon, another person was kidnapped in an incident believed to be linked to the violence in Syria. 
 
 At least 158 new deaths were reported across Syria on Thursday, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees in Syria. The deaths include 50 in Aleppo. 
 
 They also include 60 unidentified bodies found in Qatana, a Damascas suburb, the LCC said. The bodies, found in a landfill, "seem to have been executed in a massacre by the regime's army," the group said. 
 
 At least eight people were killed and more than 50 wounded when shells struck near an Aleppo bakery where people had lined up to buy bread, said Ahmad al-Zaeem, a commander in the rebel Free Syrian Army. At least 150 people have been wounded in the latest violence in Aleppo, he said. ||||| The Security Council will let the U.N. military observer mission's mandate in Syria expire Sunday and will back a new civilian office there to support U.N. and Arab League efforts to end the country's 18-month conflict. 
 
 France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud, the current Security Council president, said Thursday that members agreed to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's proposal for a liaison office. 
 
 Araud said the council agreed that conditions set for possibly extending the mission of the unarmed observers past Sunday were not met. He says there was no halt to the Syrian government's use of heavy weapons and no significant reduction in violence. 
 
 Russia invited U.N. ambassadors from key world powers that met in Geneva in June and agreed on guidelines for a political transition in Syria to meet in New York on Friday and call on all sides to end the violence. 
 
 "More than 18,000 people have been killed during the last 18 months," Ban told reporters in East Timor on Wednesday. "The Syrian people have suffered too much too long." 
 
 In a letter to the council last Friday, Ban said, "it is imperative for the United Nations to have a presence in Syria" aside from its humanitarian operation in order to support U.N. and Arab League efforts "in mediating and facilitating a peaceful resolution to the crisis." 
 
 The Security Council initially authorized the 300-strong observer mission to deploy to Syria for 90 days to monitor implementation of a six-point peace plan brokered by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. The plan was to start with a cease-fire and withdrawal of the government's heavy weapons and culminate with Syrian-led political talks. 
 
 Assad's government and opposition forces agreed to the plan, but it was never implemented. 
 
 Because of the worsening bloodshed and insecurity, the observers have been mainly confined to their hotels since June 15, and their numbers have been cut by about two-thirds. The U.N. said Wednesday that 110 observers remain in Syria, mainly in Damascus. A bomb exploded Wednesday outside their hotel, wounding three people, but no observers were hurt. 
 
 Frustrated at the escalating conflict and the failure of world powers on the Security Council to unite to stop the chaos, Annan announced last month that he was resigning effective Aug. 31. 
 
 Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed Security Council resolutions that would have stepped up pressure especially against the Syrian government by threatening sanctions if the fighting didn't stop. ||||| A powerful Shiite Muslim clan in Lebanon on Thursday claimed to have abducted more Syrian nationals and vowed further kidnappings in retaliation for the seizure of a family member by rebels in Syria this week, as Syria's civil war threatened to break open violent rivalries in its neighbor Lebanon. 
 
 Lebanese army soldiers walk as they pass between tents that were set by Sunni group who blocked a road linked to the Lebanese-Syrian border, in Masnaa, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. Masked... (Associated Press) 
 
 A masked man from a Sunni group who blocked a road linked to the Lebanese-Syrian border, checks a Syrian car which carries Syrian passengers, in Masnaa, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. Masked... (Associated Press) 
 
 A masked man from a Sunni group who blocked a road linked to the Lebanese-Syrian border, stands in front a tent, in Masnaa, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. Masked Lebanese believed to be from... (Associated Press) 
 
 The wave of kidnappings raises the dire scenario that the battle for control over Syria will ignite tensions in Lebanon, a country with its own history of civil war, an explosive sectarian mix and deep divisions between pro- and anti-Syrian factions _ many of them armed. 
 
 Already, the abductions have brought gunmen from both the Shiite and Sunni communities into the streets. On Wednesday, Shiite supporters of the al-Mikdad clan went on a rampage in a Beirut neighborhood, vandalizing dozens of Syrian-run stores, and then blocked the road to the airport, setting tires on fire and wandering the road with guns. Travelers were forced to walk from their cars to the airport, and at least one flight was cancelled. The road was only reopened early Thursday morning. 
 
 The tensions emerged Thursday in the eastern Bekaa Valley, near the Syrian border. Masked men believed to be from the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar _ a Sunni stronghold _ burned tires and set up roadblocks on the main highway leading to the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. They stopped cars going either way and checked passengers' IDs before deciding whether to let them pass, apparently looking for Shiites or Mikdad supporters. 
 
 In the nearby town of Chtoura, four gunmen abducted Syrian businessman Hossam Khasroum, pulling him from his car as he was driving and taking him to an unknown location, security officials said. Khasroum, the offficials said, is known to be a support of Assad's regime. 
 
 In a separate incident, gunmen attacked a car driven by pro-Syrian Lebanese politician, Joseph Abu-Fadel, breaking his car windows with stones as he was driving to Syria. He and three others were lightly injured. 
 
 On Wednesday, armed members of the al-Mikdad clan said they had kidnapped more than 20 Syrian nationals and a Turk in Lebanon in retaliation for the abduction of their relative, Hassane Salim al-Mikdad, who was captured in Syria this week. 
 
 Rebels who kidnapped al-Mikdad claimed he was a member of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, a staunch supporter of President Bashar Assad's regime. Hezbollah and his family deny this. 
 
 Maher al-Mikdad, a family spokesman, warned on Thursday that "if anything happens to Hassane, we will kill the Turkish hostage we have and many others. But we will start with the Turks." 
 
 Speaking to The Associated Press, he said the clan has snatched more Syrians and warned that it would go on with further kidnappings until their clansman is released. He could not give an exact number but said the clan was now holding more than 20 captives. 
 
 Lebanon's government appeared largely unable or unwilling to stop the kidnapping spree and escalating violence. Hezbollah and its allies hold a majority in the Cabinet, which has adopted a policy of "disassociation" from the events in Syria, trying to remain neutral. Hezbollah critics say it is assisting Assad in moving the conflict to Lebanon to divert attention from the deadly civil war raging in Syria. 
 
 The al-Mikdad family is a powerful Shiite Muslim clan that originally comes from the eastern Bekaa Valley, an area where state control is limited and revenge killings are common. Like most tribes in this area, they have their own militia, and security officials say many of its members are outlaws wanted on arrest warrants. The family reach also extends to the capital. 
 
 A south Beirut neighborhood with strong al-Mikdad ties, Rweis, is often avoided by outsiders who fear any possible offense that could put them at odds with the clan. The al-Mikdad's power often put them at odds with Hezbollah, the main power broker in the area, although many observers believe the appearance of armed groups Wednesday claiming to be members of the "military wing" of al-Mikdad family could not have happened without at least tacit Hezbollah support. 
 
 The wave of hostage-taking prompted Gulf countries to call on all their citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately. Sunni regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who back the Syrian rebels, were the first, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. Lebanon is a popular summer destination for Gulf residents trying to escape the searing heat. 
 
 Al-Mikdad backed off an earlier threat to abduct Gulf nationals. He said Thursday that only Syrians and Turks would be targeted. 
 
 "Our problem is with the Syrians who have abducted our son and Syrian opponents of the region," he said. "And why Turkey? Because Turkey is an operation theater for the Free Syrian Army," he added. 
 
 Turkey shelters thousands of Syrian refugees along with the leadership and members of the Free Syrian Army rebel group. 
 
 The conflict in Syria has a sharply sectarian tone. The rebels are predominantly Sunni, whereas President Bashar Assad and his inner circle come mainly from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism. Similarly, Lebanon has had long rivalries between its own Sunni and Shiite communities. Throughout Syria's conflict, Lebanese Sunnis have largely been sympathetic to the Syrian rebellion, while Hezbollah _ the main Shiite political power _ has backed Assad. ||||| Launch Gallery Expand A residential area in Azaz, hit by at least two bombs from a Syrian fighter jet on August 15, 2012. © 2012 Rachel Beth Anderson for Human Rights Watch 
 
 (Azaz) – A Syrian government fighter jet bombed a residential neighborhood, killing more than 40 civilians and wounding at least 100 others in the town of Azaz, including many women and children, Human Rights Watch said today after visiting the town. In the attack on August 15, 2012, at least two bombs destroyed an entire block of houses in the al-Hara al-Kablie neighborhood of Azaz, in Syria’s northern Aleppo province. 
 
 Human Rights Watch investigated the site of the bombing two hours after the attack and interviewed witnesses, victims, medical personnel, and relatives of those killed. 
 
 “This horrific attack killed and wounded scores of civilians and destroyed a whole residential block,” said Anna Neistat, acting emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. “Yet again, Syrian government forces attacked with callous disregard for civilian life.” 
 
 Azaz residents told Human Rights Watch that, at around 3 p.m., they saw a fighter jet drop at least two bombs on the residential area. Within seconds, dozens of houses in an area of approximately 70-by-70 meters – more than half a football field – were flattened. Houses on the surrounding streets were significantly damaged, with collapsed walls and ceilings. On the streets around the bombed area, windows were broken and some walls had collapsed. 
 
 Two opposition Free Syrian Army facilities in the vicinity of the attack might have been targets of the Syrian aircraft, Human Rights Watch said. One was the headquarters of the local Free Syrian Army brigade, in the former building of the Baath party, two streets away from the block that was hit. The other was a detention facility where the Free Syrian Army held “security detainees” – government military personnel and members of pro-government shabeeha militia. Neither of these facilities was damaged in the attack. 
 
 Rescuers used two bulldozers to retrieve the dead and wounded from the ruins. By 7 p.m., medical personnel at the scene said they had recovered 25 bodies, and were looking for more in the rubble. A man helping to bury the bodies said that by midnight 33 people had been buried in Azaz. 
 
 The exact number of victims is difficult to verify. Most of the wounded were transported to hospitals across the nearby Turkish border. A hospital volunteer in the Turkish town of Kilis, about 20 kilometers north of Azaz, told Human Rights Watch that 61 wounded people from Azaz had been brought to the hospital, and another 13 people had died either on the way to Kilis or shortly after arrival, among them seven men, two women and four children. At least another 16 severely wounded people were brought to a hospital in the Turkish town of Gaziantep, about 80 kilometers from Azaz, a doctor in that hospital told Human Rights Watch. 
 
 One Azaz resident, “Ahmed,” told Human Rights Watch that the bombing had killed at least 12 members of his family in their home. He believed that four other family members were still under the ruins. He said: 
 
 I was about 100 meters away from the house when I saw the airplane and heard the sound of the bombing and destruction. My three brothers lived here. I buried 12 of my family members today, including my father, my mother, and my sister – my brother’s wife as well. Walid, my brother, was cut into pieces. We didn’t recognize him at first. We buried my brothers’ children also. The youngest was 40 days old. 
 
 “Ali” was weeping on the ruins of his house. He told Human Rights Watch: 
 
 I was on the roof, making tomato soup, when I suddenly heard the plane. I heard several loud bangs, and was thrown to the floor. When I got up, I saw my wife who was injured – hit in the chest by shrapnel or debris. She was taken to the hospital – I still do not know what happened to her. 
 
 “Ayman” told Human Rights Watch: 
 
 My brother, sister and my father’s wife were killed today. What was Bashar al-Assad looking for in this area? …There were no weapons here. I live far away from my family, but when I heard the sounds of the explosion I came here and saw all this destruction. I was here when they removed the bodies of my family from under the rubble. Two of my killed relatives were 9 and 6 years old. 
 
 International humanitarian law, or the laws of war, applies to all Syrian government and armed opposition forces in Syria. The laws of war prohibit direct attacks on civilians. Homes, apartments, and other civilian structures are also to be protected from attack, unless they are being used for military purposes. Where there is doubt about whether a target is military or civilian, it must be presumed to be civilian. 
 
 The laws of war also prohibit attacks that strike military targets and civilians indiscriminately, such as those that are not directedat a specific military target.Attacks are also prohibited that may be expected to cause incidental civilian loss that would be disproportionate to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from the attack. 
 
 Military commanders must choose the means of attack that can be directed at military targets and will minimize incidental harm to civilians. If the weapons used are so inaccurate that they cannot be directed at military targets without imposing a substantial risk of civilian harm, then they should not be deployed. Weapons, such as aerial bombs with a large blast radius may be considered indiscriminate when used in populated areas. 
 
 The laws of war do not prohibit fighting in urban areas, although the presence of many civilians places greater obligations on all warring parties to take steps to minimize harm to civilians. All forces need to take constant care during military operations to spare the civilian population, and take all feasible precautions to avoid loss of civilian life and property. These precautions include doing everything feasible to verify that the objects of attack are military targets and not civilians or civilian objects, and giving "effective advance warning" of attacks when circumstances permit. 
 
 All forces must also avoid deploying near densely populated areas, and strive to remove civilians from the vicinity of their forces. At the same time, attacking forces are not relieved from their obligation to take into account the risk to civilians simply because they consider the defending forces responsible for locating military targets within populated areas. 
 
 Governments have an obligation to investigate allegations of serious laws-of-war violations by their military forces. Those committed with criminal intent – deliberately or recklessly – are war crimes. Governments are obligated to identify and prosecute the individuals responsible for war crimes according to international fair-trial standards. 
 
 Human Rights Watch called on United Nations Security Council members to impose an arms embargo on the Syrian government and targeted sanctions on government officials responsible for abuses, and refer the Syrian conflict to the International Criminal Court. 
 
 “Syrian forces in northern Aleppo are using heavy artillery and aerial bombing in populated areas that kill and maim civilians every day,” Neistat said. “All Security Council members should show that protection of civilians means more than empty words.”
– The UN will allow its observer mission in Syria to expire Sunday, even as reports of extreme violence continue to pour in. A government airstrike on a rebel-held town killed more than 40 people and injured at least 100 more, Human Rights Watch reported today, and that wasn't the half of it. The opposition's Local Coordination Committees estimate there were at least 158 deaths today, including 50 in Aleppo, CNN reports. The UN Security Council intends to replace the observer mission with a new civilian office originally proposed by Ban Ki-moon, French Ambassador Gerar Araud tells the AP, explaining that the observer mission could not be extended because it hadn't even come close to meeting goals like halting the regime's use of heavy weapons. In other Syria news: A powerful Shiite group in Lebanon says it's abducting Syrians in retaliation for rebels allegedly seizing a family member, raising the specter of the violence spilling into Lebanon.