Syrian forces kill hundreds in attack on Homs
Source: Agencies |
February 5, 2012, Sunday
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SYRIAN forces unleashed a barrage of mortars and artillery on the battered city of Homs for hours before dawn yesterday, killing more than 200 people in what appeared to be the bloodiest episode in the nearly 11-month-old uprising, activists said.
The government denied the assault, saying the reports are part of a "hysterical campaign" of incitement by armed groups against Syria, meant to be exploited at the UN Security Council as it prepares to vote on a draft resolution backing an Arab call for President Bashar Assad to give up power.
In the wake of the violence, angry Syrians stormed their embassies in Berlin, London, Cairo and Kuwait city, clashing with guards and police. Protesters in Cairo set fire to part of the embassy building.
With the violence in Syria growing increasingly chaotic, Western and Arab countries have stepped up their push for a UN resolution laying out a solution to the crisis, and a vote was scheduled for yesterday. But Russia, a strong ally of Syria, signaled it would veto any call for a political transition in the country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Washington that if a resolution is put to a vote without taking Russia's opinion into account it will only lead to "another scandal" at the Security Council. He acknowledged some changes had been made in the draft resolution but said two more issues needed to be addressed.
In the Homs bombardment, the hardest hit area was Khalidiyeh, a mainly Sunni neighborhood in the mixed city. Residents described a hellish night of ceaseless shelling.
"We were sitting at home and the mortars just started slamming into buildings around us," said Mohammad, a resident of Khaldiyeh, by telephone. "There was nothing that prompted it, not even protests ... people are terrified today."
Mohammad, who like other Syrians in Homs declined to be further identified, said the shelling started shortly before midnight and lasted until the early morning hours. He said residents were out inspecting the damage, looking for relatives and preparing for funerals.
"It's a catastrophe, no other way to describe it," he said.
It was not immediately clear what precipitated the ferocious attack on the eve of the UN vote.
The government denied the assault, saying the reports are part of a "hysterical campaign" of incitement by armed groups against Syria, meant to be exploited at the UN Security Council as it prepares to vote on a draft resolution backing an Arab call for President Bashar Assad to give up power.
In the wake of the violence, angry Syrians stormed their embassies in Berlin, London, Cairo and Kuwait city, clashing with guards and police. Protesters in Cairo set fire to part of the embassy building.
With the violence in Syria growing increasingly chaotic, Western and Arab countries have stepped up their push for a UN resolution laying out a solution to the crisis, and a vote was scheduled for yesterday. But Russia, a strong ally of Syria, signaled it would veto any call for a political transition in the country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Washington that if a resolution is put to a vote without taking Russia's opinion into account it will only lead to "another scandal" at the Security Council. He acknowledged some changes had been made in the draft resolution but said two more issues needed to be addressed.
In the Homs bombardment, the hardest hit area was Khalidiyeh, a mainly Sunni neighborhood in the mixed city. Residents described a hellish night of ceaseless shelling.
"We were sitting at home and the mortars just started slamming into buildings around us," said Mohammad, a resident of Khaldiyeh, by telephone. "There was nothing that prompted it, not even protests ... people are terrified today."
Mohammad, who like other Syrians in Homs declined to be further identified, said the shelling started shortly before midnight and lasted until the early morning hours. He said residents were out inspecting the damage, looking for relatives and preparing for funerals.
"It's a catastrophe, no other way to describe it," he said.
It was not immediately clear what precipitated the ferocious attack on the eve of the UN vote.
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