At Least 34 Killed in Clashes, Ambush in Syria

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

At least 34 people died in violence across Syria on Saturday, as activists reported fierce clashes between soldiers and deserters.

Twenty-three of those reported killed were military or security personnel.

Soldiers clashed with deserters in the restive central town of Rastan in Homs province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reported similar confrontations in al-Ghuta, near the capital.

Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britain-based watchdog, told Agence France Presse three deserters were killed in Rastan's fighting, while at least five soldiers were killed in clashes in nearby al-Hula.

"A large number of soldiers at the countless checkpoints inside the city deserted and turned their arms on the regime's soldiers," said an activist on the ground in Rastan.

"Residents are trying to help deserters fight their way out of Rastan and reach the positions of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army," added the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The clashes in al-Ghuta left at least six civilians and 11 members of the security forces dead, said the Observatory.

Meanwhile, an ambush on a bus near the rebel stronghold of Douma, just north of Damascus, killed seven Syrian soldiers, including an officer, the official SANA news agency reported, blaming the attack on a "terrorist group."

Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar said the authorities were determined to "cleanse" the country of outlaws and to restore order.

"Groups are committing terrorist acts and killing innocent people, robbing them of their property and undermining their security," he said, quoted by SANA.

Elsewhere, the Observatory said a child was killed in the oil province of Deir al-Zour when a shell struck his house, and a pipeline was set ablaze in Quriah, also in Deir al-Zour, after being hit by heavy machinegun fire.

And a civilian was fatally wounded by security forces in the southern province of Daraa, the rights group said.

The reports could not be independently verified because of government restrictions on journalists covering the unrest, which broke out last March and has claimed thousands of lives

Comments 6
Thumb jabalamel 28 January 2012, 14:05

more salafis dead good, good...

Thumb rover98 28 January 2012, 14:24

The Alwaites are the ones who have divided the Syrians people by failing to realize that they have no right monopolize power unjustly.

Default-user-icon محمود (Guest) 28 January 2012, 16:02

جبل عامل لا يسعده مقتل احد. استغرب من الذي يطلق على نفسه اسم جبل عامل ان يفرح لقتل المدنيين بعد ان يطلق عليهم لقب سلفيين. اذا كان كل الين يتظاهرون سلفيين فيعني ان الشعب السوري سلفي؟
ليس بالحقد الغبي يمكن ان نتقدم

Default-user-icon tal el zaatar (Guest) 28 January 2012, 17:00

Ya jabal ya habileh, Shiite s and alawites will become extinct. Once Bashar is gone, the alawites are going to he massacred. Also the time will come were the Shiite of Lebanon will be taken care of, the same way Ali was taken care of.

Missing helicopter 28 January 2012, 17:48

presence of people who think like jabalamel (and variations of that sort of thinking....whether it is salafi, or welayat fakih) is the reason why The middle East is so backward. Nationns do not belong to their rulers (clans, families, tribes, religions, mafias), they belong to ALL the peoplle who have the right to live in peace and dignity. Governments exist to serve the people and not the other way around.

Missing helicopter 28 January 2012, 18:18

In a true demoocracy where state institution are well developed and the arms are possessed only by the government, the only ones that have the right to move the country in any direction are the ones that win elections. All others will have to wait until the next elections to see if the people are happy with the direction the elected government has chosen. If not the opposition will win the next time. Violence and dictating to all what some want is always a deadend and is a vicious cycle.