Syrian forces sent shells crashing into rebel stronghold Rastan on Thursday, a watchdog said, hours after President Bashar al-Assad branded the armed opposition as “criminals” infiltrated by Al-Qaeda.
Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 30 shells smashed into Rastan in a 10-minute period after midnight, and urged UN observers monitoring a shaky truce to immediately rush to the town in central Homs province. “The army is trying to gradually destroy Rastan,” Abdel Rahman told AFP. There were no immediate reports on casualties. Rastan has for months been the focus of an offensive by the regime as it attempts to regain control of the town, defended by the largest concentration of rebel soldiers in the country and encircled by the army.
On Monday, the UN Supervisory Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) reported heavy fighting near Rastan, where activists said at least 23 soldiers and seven civilians died in fierce clashes between government forces and rebels. The Britain-based Observatory alleged regime troops had this week carried out two “massacres” of civilians — one in Homs city in which 15 civilians were “summarily executed” and another in the town of Khan Sheikhun, in Idlib province, when they gunned down 20 people at a funeral procession. Clashes across Syria continue despite an April 12 truce brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan as part of a six-point plan aimed at ending violence that has swept Syria since March 2011, when the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted.
Assad, in an interview with Russian state news channel Rossia-24, on Wednesday accused the West of ignoring violence by “terrorists” and said he would demand an explanation from Annan when he visits Damascus later this month. He complained that, since the arrival of the UN observers there had been an increase in “terrorist attacks” despite a reduction in “direct confrontation” between government forces and their foes. “The West only talks about violence, violence on the government side. There is not a word about the terrorists. We are still waiting,” he said. “I will ask him (Annan) what this is about” when he next visits Syria.
