Syrian forces pressed their efforts to stamp out dissent against the reign of President Bashar al- Assad in the central city of Homs as violence spilled over into neighboring Lebanon.
Syrian soldiers killed 10 people today in Homs, including five in Baba Amr neighborhood, Al Arabiya television reported, citing the Syrian Revolution General Commission. In the Lebanese city of Tripoli, two people were killed yesterday in clashes between supporters of Assad and his opponents, it reported, without saying where it got the information. Nineteen people were injured, it said.
Syrian forces have intensified efforts to crush the 11- month uprising against Assad’s reign since Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Feb. 4. The resolution had aimed to facilitate a political solution to a conflict that according to UN estimates has killed more than 5,400 people since starting in mid-March.
The Arab League meets today in Cairo to discuss sending monitors back to Syria after pulling them out last month. The league in November imposed sanctions on the country and sent observers in an effort to stop the violence. The 22-member body later drafted a plan that called for the formation of a national unity government to pave the way for elections.
The U.S. Embassy in Damascus posted on its Facebook Inc. page on Feb. 10 an image of artillery attacks on residential neighborhoods in Homs. The U.S. has suspended operations of its embassy in Syria, the State Department said on Feb. 6. Ambassador Robert Ford and all American personnel have left the country, the department said in an e-mailed statement.
Bloomberg
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