29 Dead across Syria as Troops Assault Hama
Syrian troops on Wednesday launched an assault on the central city of Hama, as ongoing violence killed 29 people across the country, a rights group said.
Loud blasts could be heard in the Hama’s Hamidiyeh and other neighborhoods, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Britain-based monitoring group, said ongoing clashes had killed 20 people, including nine civilians, in Al-Atareb, northwestern Aleppo province.
A bomb blast killed three people in Jisr al-Shughour, a 16-year-old schoolgirl was shot dead in southern Daraa province and gunfire and explosions rocked the northern city of Idlib, said the Observatory.
Five soldiers died when a bomb attached to their armored vehicle by army deserters exploded in the town of Sermin, Idlib province, it added.
In Damascus, dozens of pro-regime young Syrians gathered in front of the Russian embassy to thank Moscow and Beijing for their support, state television reported.
"We are here to thank Russia and China," said one woman who urged President Bashar al-Assad to deploy the army across Syria and to strike what she called gangs "with an iron fist."
As diplomats said they would seek a condemnation of the violence at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, China called for an "inclusive dialogue" between the government and opposition protesters.
China and Russia have faced a barrage of criticism for blocking a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the Assad regime.
Rights groups say more than 6,000 people have been killed since regime forces launched the crackdown on protests calling for democracy, which were launched 11 months ago to the day.
Source: Agence France Presse
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