AMMAN, (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, trying to hammer the city of Homs into submission, today killed 19 more people including two Western journalists in an onslaught that has caused an international outcry for intervention to end the bloodshed.
Hundreds of people have been killed in daily bombardments of Homs by Assad’s besieging forces using artillery, rockets and Soviet-built T-72 tanks, stoking fears of Assad subjecting the city to the same devastation as his late father inflicted on the rebellious town of Hama 30 years ago, killing at least 10,000.
With diplomacy to halt Syria’s bloodshed at a standstill and Assad’s forces intensifying offensives to wipe out rebels, the United States appeared to open the door to eventually arming the Syrian opposition, saying that if a political solution to the crisis was impossible it might have to consider other options.
The Homs district of Baba Amro where the 19 deaths were reported has been under bombardment since Feb. 3, taking the conflict to a new dimension which is bound to dominate “Friends of Syria” talks in Tunis on Friday where U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets officials from 70 countries and groups.
In a further sign of worsening carnage in Syria, activists said that troops and militia loyal to Assad captured and shot dead 27 young men on Tuesday in northern villages in the thick of an 11-month-old uprising against his autocratic rule.
Russia, one of Assad’s few remaining allies and seen as retaining some leverage over him, said today it was seeking safe passage of aid convoys to Syrian civilians trapped in the spreading violence.
