'Nightmare' in Homs as Death Toll Rises to 50

Activists on Tuesday accused Syrian forces of trying to sow sectarian strife in the flashpoint city of Homs, where the death toll climbed to around 50 in four days and a pro-government daily called for dialogue to end the "nightmare."

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 13 civilians were shot dead by security forces on Monday and Tuesday in Homs, after a bloody weekend that saw 30 people killed in the central city.

"Thirteen civilians were killed yesterday and today in several parts of Homs when the army opened fire as it carried out an operation in the city" to quell dissent, Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman told Agence France Presse.

"The Syrian authorities are carrying out military operations in Homs after having failed in their attempts to sow sectarian divisions in the city due to the foresight of the people of all faiths," Abdul Rahman said.

He also accused the regime of previous attempts to enflame sectarian tensions in other parts of the country, including Latakia, Jableh and Banias.

"The authorities' plan failed (in Homs) just as it failed in Banias last April" when pro-regime militias opened fire on a mosque in the coastal city with the aim of inciting sectarian tensions, he said.

Later on Tuesday, the Coordination Committees of the Syrian Revolution said another seven people were killed when pro-regime militia opened fire on a funeral in Homs.

"Seven martyrs fell and more than 40 people were wounded in the al-Khalidiyeh quarter during funerals outside the Khaled bin al-Walid mosque," a statement said.

"Pro-regime militias got out of two ambulances in front of the mosque and started shooting," the statement said.

Regime-friendly daily Al-Watan led its Tuesday edition with the headline "Nightmare in Homs."

"Since the outset, everybody has been guarding against a slide towards a sectarian war ... which does not distinguish between Christians and Muslims," the paper said.

"But disagreements can only be resolved through dialogue," it added.

Late on Monday, another activist had said that security forces swept into Homs and shot dead a civilian and wounded four others.

Several coaches packed with security force personnel entered Khalidiyeh and gunfire was heard afterwards, said Abdul Karim Rihawi.

The wounded were taken to Al-Bir Hospital, said Rihawi, who heads the Syrian League for the Defense of Human Rights.

"The shooting continued in more than one area of Homs. The atmosphere is tense. Security and pro-regime militias are invading the neighborhood, shooting indiscriminately to terrorize people," pro-democracy activists wrote Tuesday on their Facebook page "Syrian Revolution 2011," a driving force behind protests.

A Homs resident, declining to be identified, said: "Pro-regime (forces) attacked areas where the opposition lives. They sacked and looted shops."

Fierce fighting rocked Homs at the weekend, with activists reporting more than 30 people killed in clashes among Christians, Sunni Muslims and President Bashar al-Assad's minority Alawite community.

Activists have said the violence in Homs could spark a new and dangerous turning point in more than four months of pro-democracy protests, with Rihawi describing it as a "dangerous signal of the break-up of Syrian society."

Ammar Qorabi, head of the National Organization for Human Rights, said: "Residents of Homs have denounced the rumors, spread by parties close to the regime, about sectarian clashes. In fact, it is plain-clothed agents of the security services and army who are attacking civilians."

Abdul Rahman said at the weekend the fighting in Homs erupted after three regime supporters kidnapped last week were killed and their dismembered bodies returned to their relatives.

"These clashes are a dangerous development that undermines the revolution and serves the interests of its enemies who want it to turn into a civil war," he said.

Members of Syria's two million-strong Alawite community have held key positions within the regime since 1970, when Assad's late father, Hafez, led the ruling Baath party to power.

Alawites, a breakaway branch of the Shiite branch of Islam, make up 10 percent of the 22 million population, while Christians also represent around 10 percent.

Activists say the government's crackdown on pro-democracy and anti-regime protests has left more than 1,400 civilians dead. Thousands more have been jailed.

Meanwhile, some 300 people fleeing the unrest in Syria arrived in neighboring Lebanon late on Monday as the Syrian army boosted its presence along the border area, a local Lebanese official said on Tuesday.