Beirut: Syrian security forces killed at least seven people in a flashpoint central city following a visit by members of a UN humanitarian team, activists said Tuesday.
The United Nation's top human rights body, meanwhile, voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to demand that Syria end its bloody crackdown and cooperate with an international probe into possible crimes against humanity.
The UN has said the overall death toll from President Bashar Assad's crackdown on dissent has reached 2,200. Seven people died on Monday, four of them when troops opened fire to disperse anti-government protesters in Homs.
The protesters had gathered in the city's main square ahead of a the arrival of a UN humanitarian team. Amateur videos posted by activists online showed crowds of people thronging several cars with the blue UN flag, flashing banners that read: "SOS" and "We will never stop until we get our freedom."
The protesters chanted for freedom and the downfall of the regime.
Syria granted a UN team permission to visit some of the centers of the protests and crackdown to assess humanitarian needs, but activists and a Western diplomat have accused the regime of trying to scrub away signs of the crackdown.
Residents and activists said it was quiet until the team left, after which troops opened fire to disperse the protest, killing four people. Three more were killed by gunmen elsewhere in Homs, which has become a hotbed of dissent against Assad.
In New York, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq later told reporters that "a protest situation developed" in Homs, adding the mission was advised to leave for security reasons.
"The mission did not come under fire," he said.
