Red Cross seeks Syria ceasefires; more than 60 killed

Syrian government forces killed more than 60 people on Tuesday in assaults on villages and an artillery barrage in the restive city of Homs activists said and the Red Cross called for daily ceasefires to allow in urgently needed aid.

Washington which is preparing for a Friends of Syria meeting of Western and Arab states opposing President Bashar alAssad declined to rule out eventually providing arms to rebels seeking to overthrow him.

U.N. chief Ban Kimoon said he was searching for a candidate to name as a humanitarian coordinator for Syria whose role could evolve into seeking a political solution to the conflict.

Activists said at least 30 people died in the bombardment of the Baba Amro neighborhood of Homs city and at least 33 were killed when forces trying to crush opposition to Assad stormed villages in northern Idlib province.

In Damascus security forces opened fire on demonstrators overnight wounding at least four activists said. Violence in has hit the capital over the past week undermining Assad’s assertion that the 11monthold uprising against his rule is limited to the provinces and the work of saboteurs.

Activist accounts of the violence could not be confirmed. The government bars most foreign journalists from Syria.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had asked authorities and rebels to agree daily ceasefires so lifesaving aid can reach civilians in hardhit areas including Homs.

It should last at least two hours every day so that ICRC staff and Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers have enough time to deliver aid and evacuate the wounded and the sick ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger said.

Western and Arab powers that are openly seeking Assad’s downfall are preparing for the inaugural meeting of a Friends of Syria contact group in Tunisia on Friday.

Asked about the prospect of arming the rebels U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said We don’t believe that it makes sense to contribute now to the further militarization of Syria.

But she added That said… if we can’t get Assad to yield to the pressure that we are all bringing to bear we may have to consider additional measures.

Russia and China back Assad’s own program for reforms which includes plans for a referendum on Sunday on a new constitution which would lead to elections in 90 days. Assad says this should satisfy demands for more democracy his opponents say the proposals are a sham.

Russia said it would not attend the Friends of Syria meeting because the Syrian government would not be represented. Lebanon which has tried to distance itself from the turmoil across its border will also stay away from the Tunis meeting.

Russia and China have faced Western and Arab criticism for blocking U.N. action against Syria. A former Syrian Defence Ministry auditor who defected in January told Moscow’s arms sales to Damascus nearly 1 billion last year had increased sharply since the start of the uprising.

In an interview with U.N. chief Ban said he was urgently contacting prospective candidates for the role of U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Syria. The U.N. General Assembly asked Ban last week to name someone for the job. Russia has said it would support a U.N. humanitarian envoy.

ARTILLERY ATTACK

Activists said government forces launched the artillery attack on Homs after rebel fighters holding the opposition Baba Amro district blocked troops from entering.

Several shells are falling each minute activist Nader alHusseini told from the district adding that at least two children were among the victims.

Another activist in the city said We have now at least 30 killed. One family is among them. A third said Others are still buried. Today the shelling is very fierce.

The Britishbased opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces had stormed villages in Idlib province in the north of the country.

The army stormed the village of Abdita and chased people in Iblin and Balshoon. They killed 33 people. All are civilians the group said.

Activists in Homs said government forces backed by armour have been closing in on Baba Amro a mainly Sunni Muslim neighborhood since the offensive on the city began on Feb 3.

Much of the opposition to Assad comes from the Sunni majority while much of his support comes from minorities including his Alawite sect raising worries that violence could take on a sectarian slant and draw in neighboring countries.

Tanks are deployed in the Inshaat district next to Baba Amro opposition sources said. The Observatory said a convoy of more than 50 armored vehicles was seen heading from Damascus towards Homs.

A city of one million people on the DamascusAleppo highway Homs has been at the heart of the uprising against Assad’s 11year rule. Residents say they are running short of medicine and food and are massed together in crowded homes to seek shelter.

Government curbs on access make it hard to verify details of fighting there but international rights and aid organizations say hundreds of people have been killed in recent weeks in Homs.

UNDER FIRE IN DAMASCUS

Assad says the revolt is the work of foreignbacked terrorists. Until recently it was limited mainly to the provinces but antigovernment rallies have drawn crowds in Damascus in recent days. On Monday night at least four people were wounded when security forces opened fire activists said.

There were hundreds of demonstrators at the main square of Hajar alAswad neighborhood and suddenly buses of security police and shabbiha proAssad militia turned up and started firing into the crowd activist Abu Abdallah said by telephone.

Footage posted on YouTube purportedly taken before the shooting showed a crowd marching in Hajar alAswad carrying placards in support of besieged Homs and singing Eyes are shedding tears for the martyrs among Syria’s youth.

Elsewhere an activist group in Kfar Tkharim near the Turkish border said rebel fighters had killed five soldiers and captured two in an ambush on a government column.

An activist in alQusair about 32 km 20 miles southwest of Homs and close to the Lebanese border said five people were killed and eight wounded when the northern part of the town came under heavy fire from army mortars and T72 tanks.

People in that area are hiding in their homes they can’t leave. Others are resisting. Those who are farther away are fleeing the town. Some people are so scared they’re trying to leave anyway even if they are close to the fire Abu Ansa told

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