7 Killed as Syrians Vote in Municipal Polls

Syrians were voting Monday in municipal elections held amid a general strike called by the opposition and as security forces killed another seven people as they pursued a crackdown on dissent.

The elections committee, in a statement received by Agence France Presse, said "voting is proceeding in a democratic spirit," adding that voting turnout was "good." It did not elaborate.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven people were killed in the flashpoint regions of Homs and Idlib on Monday, while strikes were observed in Daraa, cradle of nine months of anti-regime protests, and near Damascus.

Opposition activists have urged citizens to intensify a civil disobedience campaign launched on Sunday in a bid to bring down the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Polling stations opened at 0600 GMT, with 42,889 candidates vying for 17,588 seats, and were due to close at 2000 GMT.

Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud told AFP the elections were part of a reform package pledged by the authorities to promote democracy and would be followed by legislative polls in February.

"These elections are taking place on time in line with a reform program," Mahmoud told AFP.

"They are taking place although some are trying, in vain, to stop them through terrorist acts carried out by armed groups who are terrorizing the citizens," he said.

Last week local administration minister Omar Ghalawanji said a special indelible ink would be used for the first time in the municipal elections "to prevent any fraud."

"I voted because we want to contribute to the reforms (pledged by Assad) and choose the best" candidates, said Zeina, a 35-year-old woman, as she emerged from a polling state in the central Ummayad Square of Damascus.

Ahmed, a pro-regime taxi driver, said the vote was essential "as a response to those calling for a strike."

But a regime opponent, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he did not expect a huge turnout.

"I am surprised that elections are taking place under such circumstances," he said. "Cities gripped by the uprising are not concerned by these elections."

The dissident said he expected voting to be limited to areas where protests against the Assad regime have been scarce or non-existent such as Aleppo, Syria's second city and economic hub.

There have been little or no anti-regime protests in large urban areas like Aleppo and in many part of the capital Damascus.

The Britain-based Observatory said authorities "forced dozens of people" in Idlib to go to vote despite raging violence in the northwestern province where three people were killed by security forces in an early morning raid.

Four other civilians were killed in the central province of Homs, the Observatory said.

It also reported that army deserters were locked in heavy fighting since dawn with regular troops in two Idlib villages and that similar fighting was also raging in Daraa province.

The opposition Syrian National Council said in a statement that the "dignity" general strike launched Sunday was widely observed in 12 provinces across Syria against "all expectations."

The SNC urged Syrian citizens from all walks of life as well as labor unions to pursue the strike, saying it was essential "for the success of the revolution and the establishment of a civilian democratic nation."

The general strike is part of a campaign of civil disobedience which also aims to shut down universities, public transport, the civil service and major highways.

The Observatory said the strike was observed for the second consecutive day in Daraa and also in the restive northern Damascus suburb of Douma.

A man and a woman were killed in Douma on Sunday, when at least 13 people died in violence across Syria including five in the flashpoint central province of Homs as fears grew of an "invasion" of the besieged protest hub, activists said.

U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, who has said more than 4,000 people have been killed in the government crackdown on dissent, is to brief the U.N. Security Council on Syria later Monday.

The unprecedented protests which erupted in Syria in mid-March initially called for greater freedoms in one of the Arab world's most autocratic country.

But faced with a violent government crackdown protesters quickly began demanding the fall of the regime, despite repeated promises by Assad to adopt political reforms to appease his detractors.