Nicosia: Syrian security forces shot dead 11 people Wednesday when they opened fire on residents in the flashpoint protest city of Homs, activists at the scene told AFP.
The security forces "fired indiscriminately on residents of the Baba Amro neighbourhood, killing 11 people," one of the activists said from the central Syrian city by telephone to AFP in Nicosia.
According to the militant the security forces raided homes and arrested people.
"They have launched a vast operation, arresting people and searching homes and opening fire on anyone trying to escape," the witnesss said.
Homs has been at the forefront of nearly five months of protests against the regime of President Bashar Al Assad.
At the start of the protest movement in mid-March, demonstrators swarmed the streets demanding reforms in the autocratic Arab nation and later called for the ouster of the regime as a crackdown on protesters claimed more than 2,000 lives, according to rights groups.
The latest reported deaths come amid mounting world pressure on Assad, who has also become increasingly isolated in the region, as neighbours like Turkey and Arab countries condemn the violence and call for reform.
