Region | Syria
16 killed in intense Syria shelling
UN is expected to send a special envoy to deliver humanitarian aid, Russia says
- AP
- Published: 00:00 February 22, 2012
- Image Credit: AFP
- An image grab taken from YouTube allegedly shows shelling by government forces on the residential neighbourhood of Baba Amr in the protest city of Homs.
Beirut: Syrian government troops heavily shelled rebellious districts in the resistance stronghold of Homs yesterday, killing at least 16 people and compounding fears of a new round of bloody urban combat in a country careening toward all-out civil war.
Activists said the intense shelling of Baba Amr in Homs lasted a few hours but did not seem to be the start of a widely expected military offensive aimed at retaking rebel-held neighbourhoods in the central region.
They bombed all the water tanks on the roofs of buildings, there's no water. Some people have gone without bread for days. If they don't die in the shelling they will die of hunger
Two of the 16 people killed were children, activists said, warning that Homs is already facing a humanitarian catastrophe.
In the northern province of Aleppo, the government said a Syrian businessman was shot dead in front of his home in what appears to be the latest in a series of targeted that suggest armed factions are growing bolder and more coordinated in their uprising against President Bashar Al Assad.
An activist inside Homs said the shelling started after repeated attempts by troops to storm the edges of Baba Amr.
"Government troops have been unable to advance because of stiff resistance from defectors inside," he told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, fearing government reprisals.
On Monday, the Red Cross said it was trying to broker a cease-fire among all parties in Syria to allow emergency aid in. Russia said the United Nations is expected to send a special envoy to Syria late last night to help coordinate security issues and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Twitter that it's proposing that the UN Security Council ask the UN Secretary General to send the envoy.
Despite the humanitarian activity, activists reported heavy shelling of the Baba Amr, Khaldiyeh and Karm el-Zeytoun districts — all in Homs. It lasted for more than two hours early in the morning, followed by intermittent attacks concentrated on Baba Amr.
Baba Amr on Homs' southwest edge has become the centre of the city's opposition. Hundreds of army defectors are thought to be taking shelter there, clashing with troops in hit-and-run attacks each day.
Insufficient food, water, electricity, medicine
Residents and activists say a months-long siege and stepped up attacks on Baba Amr in recent days have left the district without enough food, medicine, electricity and water.
"They bombed all the water tanks on the roofs of buildings, there's no water. Some people have gone without bread for days," said activist and resident Omar Shaker. "If they don't die in the shelling they will die of hunger," he added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich also said yesterday that Moscow will not attend the planned "Friends of Syria" meeting, because its organisers had failed to invite representatives of the Syrian government.
Lukashevich said the meeting wouldn't help a dialogue, saying that the global community should act as friends of the entire Syrian people, and not just one part.
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