The Guardian reports: Scores of people have been killed in the fifth straight day of shelling in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, according to opponents of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The continuing bombardments of the districts of Bayadah, Baba Amr, al-Khaldiyeh and Karm el-Zeytoun caused many deaths, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Omar Shaker, an activist in Baba Amr, said the district was under “very intense shelling” by tanks, mortars, artilleries and heavy machine guns. He said he had counted five bodies.
Other reports suggest 47 civilians died early on Wednesday in the government’s continuing attempts to subdue opposition areas. At least 150 people have died in the last two days, activists and oppostion sources have told Reuters.
One activist, Muhammad Hassan, said by satellite phone: “Electricity returned briefly and we were able to contact various neighbourhoods because activists there managed to recharge their phones. We counted 47 killed since midnight.” Hassan said the bombardment had intensified in Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods that have risen up against Assad.
Ok, so let me ask a stupid question. If the opposition and the demosntrators are peaceful, who are all these armed men we see on the videos. And if these are only civilians demonstrating peacefully for democracy, why would the Syrian Govt feel there is a need to use Tanks and other heavy artillery, surely they can kill the demostrators just as effectively with soldiers or ground security forces with light weapons.
Homs is the bed of salafis who seem to want to be martyrs and have already accounted for several killings of Syrian soldiers and security personnel, what would anyone suggest the response to armed militia should be when they’re killing your forces. I have a quick solution to stop the shelling and killings in Homs andother Syrian cities. Go back to peaceful demos and demand democracy, not bringing down the Govt, or killing the president etc… Of course this won’t happen. The gulf states and the western powers have invested too much in this uprising and they will finish it, to the last syrian.