Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Assad loyalists kill 10 in attacks in Homs
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Slideshow
Video
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our top photos from the past 48 hours. Full Article
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Universal pulls plug on Stephen King's "The Dark Tower"
18 Jul 2011
News of the World Whisteblower Found Dead
18 Jul 2011
Minnesota grinds budget details to end shutdown
18 Jul 2011
Special report: Banks continue robo-signing
18 Jul 2011
Perry signs bill allowing Texas healthcare "compact"
18 Jul 2011
Discussed
105
Obama and lawmakers regroup to seek debt deal
101
Obama asks lawmakers to gauge support for debt deal
61
Fallback plan gains momentum in debt talks
Watched
Flying sphere goes where man fears to tread
Thu, Jul 14 2011
Pakistan Taliban releases video of mass execution
Mon, Jul 18 2011
Japan's winning team returns home
Mon, Jul 18 2011
Assad loyalists kill 10 in attacks in Homs
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Syria forces besiege town after defections: residents
Sun, Jul 17 2011
32 killed in Syria protests, Damascus moves-activists
Fri, Jul 15 2011
Crackdown escalates in east Syria, protesters killed
Thu, Jul 14 2011
Syrian military kills four in renewed assaults
Wed, Jul 13 2011
U.N. Council condemns embassy attacks in Syria
Tue, Jul 12 2011
Analysis & Opinion
In wake of Mumbai attacks, Pakistan could help save dialogue with India
On the Afghanistan-Pakistan border : cutting off the nose to spite the face
Related Topics
World »
Syria »
Related Video
Syria: New Homs video.
1:43am EDT
A rally for Assad in Syria
Syria cracks down on protests
Funeral for protesters in Syria
Largest yet protest in Syria
1 of 3. Demonstrators march through the streets in Hajar al-Aswad in Damascus July 17, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Handout
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
AMMAN |
Tue Jul 19, 2011 3:01am EDT
AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian forces and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad killed 10 people in attacks on residential districts in Homs on Monday, the Local Coordination Committees activist group said.
"Tens of people have been also wounded. Security forces and shabbiha (militiamen) are rampaging in streets and firing randomly. Whole neighborhoods are besieged," the group said in a statement sent to Reuters.
Syria saw its first major sectarian violence in four months of protests against Assad's rule when 30 people were killed at the weekend in clashes in Homs between members of the minority Alawite sect, who dominate the security apparatus, and the majority Sunni population.
Diplomatic pressure mounted on Assad on Monday after Qatar, previously a major supporter, shut its embassy in Damascus and the European Union said it was considering tougher sanctions.
Assad, an Alawite, has been waging a military campaign to try and crush the uprising for political freedoms, during which troops and security forces killed over 1,400 civilians and arrested over 12,000 Syrians, according to rights campaigners.
A 12-year old boy was among those killed in Homs on Monday the Local Coordination Committees said, adding the attacks focused on the al-Khalidiya district of the city.
The neighborhood is inhabited by members of Sunni tribes from rural Homs and is near the Alawite district of Nozha, where most of the militiamen and security forces in the city live.
Homs, a mostly Sunni city that has seen an influx of Alawites in the last 20 years as the community firmed its grip on the security and public jobs, has been a focal point of the uprising since the military stormed its main Sunni districts two months ago to crush protests calling for Assad to quit.
One resident of Homs, a lawyer who did not want to be identified, said tribal members in the Khaldieh area had responded to attacks by Alawite militiamen from the Nozha area on their shops by killing several of the gunmen.
"The Christians are staying out of this," he said. "Basically you have two armed neighborhoods in Homs and the tribes are now starting to settle scores with the regime," the lawyer said.
"The magic is turning against the magician. The regime thought that if it feeds the tribes and allows them to carry AK-47s it will secure their loyalty forever," he said. "The repression, however, is turning them into insurgents."
Bodies of Assad supporters were returned to their relatives mutilated on the weekend, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
A spokesman for demonstrators in the city said in a statement on Sham News Network Facebook page that 10 people rather than 30 had been killed and that they died in attacks by security forces on the city.
Mohammad Saleh, an activist and a resident of Homs, said group of Alawite men, including four policemen, went missing on Thursday. The bodies of four of them were found on Saturday with their eyes gouged out. Six more bodies were found on Sunday.
Alawites make up an estimated 20 percent of the population of Homs but as a result of preferential treatment by the state, hold 60 percent of the public sector jobs in the city.
CONSPIRACY THEORY
Assad had described the uprising as a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife. His opponents argue that the president has been playing on sectarian fears to maintain Alawite support and keep in power his family, which has ruled Syria with an iron fist for 41 years.
Once courted by the West as a possible moderate in the region, is becoming increasingly isolated internationally, with only Iran keeping up its support.
Qatar was a major backer of Syria until protests broke out in March, but relations deteriorated when Sunni Muslims began to be killed by Assad's security forces, whose leaders, like the president, belong to the minority Alawite sect.
Qatar withdrew its ambassador from Damascus and closed its embassy last week after two attacks on the embassy compound by militiamen loyal to Assad, known as 'shabbiha', diplomats in the Syrian capital told Reuters on Monday.
The EU has already imposed travel bans and asset freezes on 34 Syrian individuals and entities, but British Foreign Secretary William Hague said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels "work now needs to start so we can add to that if necessary over the coming days and weeks."
A statement agreed by the ministers in Brussels said: "Until the unacceptable violence against the civilian population is halted... the EU will pursue and carry forward its current policy, including through sanctions." it said.
In eastern Syria, residents of Albu Kamal, on the border with Iraq, held talks on Monday with troops besieging the town to avoid an assault after defections among security forces who had tried to quell street demonstrations there, residents said.
Residents said Alawite troops were sent from the west of the country after thousands took to the streets, prompted by killings by Military Intelligence agents of five protesters on Saturday, including a 14-year-old boy.
The crowds overwhelmed soldiers and secret police. Residents said around 100 Air Force Intelligence personnel and the crew of at least four armored vehicles joined the protesters.
"A senior Alawite officer from (the port city) of Tartous is now talking with Albu Kamal notables to hand over within 10 days weapons stockpiles the protesters seized after the defections," said one activist, who declined to be named for fear of arrest.
Albu Kamal is on the eastern edge of the province of Deir al-Zor, where hundreds of thousands protested on Friday. The region, at the center of Syria's 380,000 barrels per day oil output, is still among the poorest in the country with little of the oil revenue invested in the area.
(Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny and Oliver Holmes in Beirut, and by David Brunnstrom and Ilona Wissenbach in Brussels; Writing by Jon Hemming, editing by Matthew Jones)
World
Syria
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 Manuel overdrive: Phillies headed toward 100-win mark
New Republican budget plan seeks deeper cuts as deficit deadline approaches
Study: Almost half of mild Alzheimer's patients suffer from apathy and depression
Charlie Sheen returns to television with "Anger Management"
Wendy Williams to embark on "Say It Like You Mean It" tour
Dispute between Somali leaders delays cabinet nominations
Second top cop resigns in U.K. phone hacking scandal
Chinese police, rioters clash in Xinjiang; 4 killed
Bangladesh teacher fired in Mohammed row
On financial thin ice: Maple Leafs practice facility taken over by city
U.S. urges Gaddafi to go as rebels claim oil town
|
Assad loyalists kill 10 in attacks in Homs
|
Springsteen surprises fans during Clemons Tribute
In liberalized Greek workplace, dancers swirl freely
|
Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory
Egyptian PM taken to hospital, new cabinet delayed
|
Health Law Bolsters Funding For In-School Clinics
Astronauts bid space station goodbye
Beckham, Donovan, Henry highlight MLS All-Star roster
China's heir apparent pledges tough line on Tibet
|
Lily Allen's store is doing fine despite reports
China blames terrorists for attack in Xinjiang: report
|
Betty White is latest to be invited to Marine Corps Ball
Bette Midler accuses Lady Gaga of stealing routine
Cabrera, Huff lead Indians past Twins in opener of doubleheader
Pakistani workers of U.S. aid agency feared kidnapped
|
IBM's services signings surge, stock rises
|
Apple set to wow investors, outlook eyed
|
Cisco to cut workforce by 15 percent, sell factory to Hon Hai
|
China Web users hit 485 million
|
Hackers breach Murdoch's Sun newspaper website
|
Microsoft seals record year, stock still stuck
|
China's Baidu signs music deal with studios, ends legal wrangle
|
Kodak did not infringe on Apple patents, says ITC
|
Chip outlook down on economy, PC sales, inventories
|
EBay's marketplace turnaround gains momentum
|
Charlie Sheen gets his Anger Management on TV show
|
Harry Potter debut box office inches higher
|
Handover of key city tests Afghan forces amid rising violence
|
Israeli navy seizes Gaza-bound yacht
|
Iran says installing new nuclear centrifuges
|
U.N. set to declare famine in parts of Somalia
|
NGOs in standoff over Hamas audit demand
Tunisia gas pipe hit by blast but still working
|
Mets star shortstop Jose Reyes returns after stint on 15-day DL
Peru's Congress approves bill to pay land bonds
|
Great trek for water in the south
Afghan, Pakistan presidents meet amid new tensions
|
Michelle Obama to appear on 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'
Egypt cabinet to be sworn in on PM's return: sources
|
Hawass is gone, leaving Egyptian antiquities in crisis
Egyptian women demand greater role in government
Emma Watson says she'll return to Brown University
'Glee' to release first live album
Nepal to determine height of Mt. Everest on its own
Ready for some football? NFL, players close to new deal
Frustrated judge pushes Google digital book deal
|
Basic Nokia phones more profitable than smartphones
|
Murdoch newspapers tighten computer security after hack
|
FDA plans oversight of some mobile medical apps
|
Adele up against two past winners for Mercury Prize
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights