Syrian troops clashed Saturday with suspected army deserters after overnight fighting that reportedly killed 17 soldiers, activists said, as Arab ministers condemned the murder of dozens of civilians during anti-regime protests. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces killed 36 people on Friday as protesters urged a Libya-style no-fly zone and reported that 17 soldiers later died in overnight clashes between troops and suspected deserters in Homs.
An activist on the ground quoted by the Observatory said “more than 40 people were killed or wounded and two armoured vehicles destroyed” in the fighting in Bab al-Sebaa district after an officer and dozens of soldiers defected. Clashes resumed in Duwar al-Rayess neighbourhood of Homs where a loud blast was heard after an armoured car was hit, the Observatory said, adding that smoke could be seen billowing from a government building.
And four civilians, including a woman, were killed and several wounded by gunfire from Syrian forces and snipers on Syrian in the city and province of Homs, the Observatory said. It also reported that security forces arrested 10 people during a raid and search operations in the village of Dweir, in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. In northwest Syria, hundreds of soldiers deployed in Sarakeb, in Idlib province, the Observatory said, quoting local activists who feared the army could be preparing an “invasion” of the town.
Friday’s violence prompted fresh condemnation from the foreign ministers of the 22-strong Arab League which called on member state Syria to stop the deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. “The Arab ministerial committee expressed its rejection of the continued killings of civilians in Syria and expressed its hope that the Syrian government will take the necessary measures to protect them,” they said.
An Arab League ministerial committee on Syria met on Wednesday in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to spur a dialogue between his regime and the opposition. The task force is due to meet Syrian officials on Sunday in Qatar to try to reach “serious results and an exit to the Syrian crisis,” the Arab League said. In reaction, the Syrian foreign ministry said the committee had “based its decision on the lies spread by television channels.”
The committee of ministers should have “helped to calm (the situation) and reach a solution to ensure the security and stability of Syria instead of reviving dissent,” it said in a statement.
It said Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem would “inform the committee tomorrow of the true situation in Syria.” Most of Friday’s killings took place in Homs and in Hama, in the north, as Syrian forces encircled mosques to prevent anti-regime demonstrations and fired live rounds on protesters, the Observatory said.
It said more than 100 people were wounded and 500 arrested.
