5 Killed as Syrian Troops Storm Residential District of Homs

Posted November 7th, 2011 at 7:10 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Syrian rights activists say government forces stormed the Baba Amr residential district of Homs Monday, kicking in doors and making house-to-house arrests after nearly a week of deadly assaults that reportedly killed more than 110 people.

The activists said security forces backed by tanks and heavy weapons killed at least five people in Homs and the surrounding province Monday, including an 8-year old girl. The violence followed clashes Sunday that left at least 16 people dead in the region.

According to the activists, army defectors have been fighting back against the pro-government forces in Homs, Syria's third largest city that is at the center of an eight-month uprising against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The increasingly violent crackdown on dissent prompted Syria's key opposition group, the Syrian National Council, to declare the city a “disaster area” and to call for international intervention to protect civilians.

The Arab League scheduled an emergency meeting in Cairo on Saturday to discuss “Syria's failure to implement a deal struck last week to end the offensive against protesters.”

Syrian ambassador to the Arab League Youssef Ahmed said Monday Syria has taken significant steps toward fulfilling the deal, such as releasing 500 prisoners as part of a conditional amnesty.

The United Nations says at least 3,000 people have been killed in the Syrian government's crackdown since the uprising began in March. Syria blames much of the unrest on “terrorists” whom it says have killed hundreds of security personnel.