20 Civilians, 6 Troops Killed in Fresh Syria Violence
Twenty civilians and six regime soldiers were killed in violence in Syria on Sunday as clashes raged between deserters and regular army troops in centers of protest against the regime, human rights activists said.
Security forces shot dead 20 civilians across the country, the Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, reported.
Meanwhile, an officer was among six loyalist soldiers killed in clashes with rebel troops in the flashpoint central province of Homs, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said, citing a dissident officer.
"Three armored vehicles were destroyed and those inside were wounded and killed," the Britain-based watchdog said, adding the heavy exchange of fire in the town of Qusayr led to the "partial destruction of some houses."
In Idlib province, in the northwest near the border with Turkey, a civilian was killed and 29 wounded when security forces shelled and raided the villages of Iblin and Abdita, the Observatory said.
Clashes between deserters and loyalist troops continued for a second straight day in the province. Communications were cut off in the town of Maaret al-Numan where a pro-democracy general strike has lasted a week.
A strike was observed in the majority of villages in Daraa province, south of the capital, where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted in March, the Observatory said.
In the Daraa district of Tafas, troops began removing roadblocks erected by residents during the strike and used cranes to try to open the roads into the villages of Zeizoun and al-Ajami.
Authorities also arrested two army lieutenants, one in Daraa and one in Damascus province, the Observatory added.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
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