Syrian Forces Shoot Dead 15 Civilians, 6 in Homs
Syrian forces killed at least 15 civilians on Sunday, six of them in the flashpoint region of Homs that has been under siege for several weeks in an operation to crush dissent, a rights group said.
The latest violence came as the Arab League voted to impose a raft of diplomatic and economic sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's regime for defying an ultimatum to allow observers into the country.
Security forces killed one person during a raid in the Bayyada district of Homs city, and another civilian was shot dead from the roof of a building in the town of Qusayr, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Four civilians were also killed in Al-Khalidiyeh when troops and security forces raided the neighborhood in Homs city, said the Britain-based watchdog.
"Several people were wounded, some seriously, and the death toll could rise," it added.
Near Damascus, six people were killed, including a 14-year-old boy, and 13 civilians were wounded as troops fired "indiscriminately" and made arrests in a raid on Rankuss district, said the Observatory.
Security forces killed at least two people and wounded eight others when they shot at mourners during the funeral of a man who had died in the eastern oil hub city of Deir al-Zour, it said.
Another person was killed in the Kafarnubol area of Idlib province in the northwest after being arrested by security forces "for selling fuel to militants," the group added.
Clashes also erupted between regular troops and deserters in the region of Talbisseh, another town in Homs province, said the watchdog in statements received in Nicosia. "Two troop transporters were destroyed."
In the southern province of Daraa, cradle of eight months of dissent against Assad's autocratic regime, mutinous soldiers attacked a military bus, wounding several troops, it said.
Security forces also arrested 17 people in raids on the village of Muhsen in Deir al-Zour province, it added.
Syrian authorities said security forces killed 12 gunmen during clashes with "terrorist groups" in Homs, state-run news agency SANA said, adding that similar clashes had occurred in Idlib and Daraa.
The Observatory's chief also reported that regime forces were carried out acts of vandalism in the Kafarnabuda region of Hama, further north of Homs province.
"Troops and security forces plundered shops, torched homes and cars owned by activists and arrested several militants," in Sunday morning raids, said Rami Abdul Rahman.
The Local Coordination Committees which organize anti-regime protest said several rallies were staged across the country, including four small ones in Damascus where demonstrators urged foreign intervention.
"He who says no to military intervention is a traitor," read one sign held by protesters, according to a YouTube video, in the restive Damascus neighborhood of Qaboun.
On Saturday, at least 23 civilians and 12 members of the security forces were killed in clashes across the country, activists said.
The 22-member Arab League agreed on Sunday to ban Syrian officials from visiting any Arab country, to freeze government assets, suspend flights and halt any transactions with the Syrian government and central bank.
State television said in a terse statement that the Arab decision to impose sanctions on a member state was "an unprecedented measure."
Several hundred Syrians gathered in a central Damascus square to denounce the move.
Source: Agence France Presse
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