Street violence
October 29, 2011
Three people were killed in the central Syrian city of Homs on Saturday, anti-government activists said, as the country continues to creak in the midst of civil unrest and a brutal government crackdown on dissent.
The second day of recent clashes was fought out between army defectors and state-backed troops.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred when forces pounded Homs with heavy machine guns. Five others were reported injured. The London-based group said explosions rang out in the city throughout the morning.
Homs has risen as one of the focal points of opposition to the 11-year reign of President Bashar al-Assad. The anti-government movement has been demanding greater freedoms and an end to the Assad regime. Assad's father, Hafez, had ruled Syria for 29 years until his death.
No-fly zone demanded
On Friday, at least 37 people were believed killed in and around the governorates of Homs and Hama as demonstrators took to the streets calling on the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone over their country, as it did over Libya.
Activists say they fear Syrian military forces may launch airstrikes against the protests that have entered their seventh month.
More than 3,000 people, including at least 187 children, have been killed in the government crackdown, according to the United Nations.
Assad has repeatedly said he was using legitimate means to confront foreign-backed militants bent on fomenting sectarian strife.
Meanwhile, the Arab League has sent an urgent message to the Syria government, calling on it to end the months of violence. The League's Arab Ministers Committee expressed "its severe discontent for the continued killing of Syrian civilians."
Arab ministers are due to meet Syrian officials on Sunday in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Author: Darren Mara (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Nicole Goebel