At Least 25 Killed in Syria Violence
At least 21 civilians and four soldiers were killed on Tuesday in violence across Syria, the majority of them in the flashpoint central city of Homs, activists said.
"At least nine civilians, including a woman, were killed by gunfire and shelling as (troops) attempt an assault on the Khaldiyeh neighborhood of the city," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.
The Britain-based group said four Syrian troops were killed in the assault on Khaldiyeh, while six other civilians were killed in shelling of the Baba Amr neighborhood.
Elsewhere, five civilians were killed in clashes in Zabadani, located near the capital Damascus and the Lebanese border.
Clashes were also reported in Hula, in Homs province, where a 15-year-old boy was reported killed.
In Idlib, the army was shelling the village of Kafar Takharim, where there are members of the Free Syrian Army, made up of defectors and sympathizers, activists said.
"There are fierce clashes between soldiers and defectors," said the Local Coordination Committees, a loose umbrella organization of opposition activists.
Clashes were also taking place in Basr al-Harir, in the southern province of Daraa, where 70 soldiers had defected, the LCC said.
Sporadic machinegun fire and rocket explosions could be heard in the Baba Amro neighborhood of the central city which has become a flashpoint of the popular revolt against the regime of President Bashar Assad.
Abu Rami, an activist reached by telephone, said the explosions had continued through the night.
"There are about four blasts every five minutes," he said. "Since this morning the shelling has been concentrated in the neighborhoods of Baba Amro, Inshaat and Jubar.
"The humanitarian situation is dire. No one can move around. There are snipers everywhere," he added.
Other activists reached by telephone have said food and medicine were in short supply.
According to rights groups, more than 6,000 people have died since the outbreak of the revolt in Syria mid-March.
Source: Agence France Presse
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