Regime forces killed at 16 civilians in Syria on Saturday, as they shelled a rebel stronghold for the 22nd straight day and opened fire in Hama and Aleppo, where thousands were rallying, monitors said.
The shelling of the neighbourhood of Baba Amr began at first light, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as sporadic explosions were heard in other areas of the central city. Four civilians were killed in Baba Amr and other Homs neighbourhoods, as security forces also opened fire on the neighbourhoods of Khaldiyeh and Hamidiyeh, in the city centre, the Britain-based Observatory said. Opposition group Local Coordination Committees said security forces fired mortars at Khaldiyeh. Meanwhile, security forces shot dead six people, including a woman and a girl, as they clashed with defected troops in the Aleppo provincial town of Ezaz, the Observatory said. Police also opened fire to disperse a demonstration of some 4,000 people who took to the street in the neighbourhood of Sayef al-Dawla, in Aleppo, for the funeral of a civilian killed on Friday, the Observatory said. A local activist, who requested anonymity, also told AFP that thousands were taking part in the protest.
No casualties were reported so far.
Six civilians, including two girls, died when troops stormed the villages of Maarazaf and Al-Majdel, in the central province of Hama, the Observatory said.
