Eleven killed in Syrian protest hub: activist

AFP, Nicosia, May 30, 2011  – The death toll rose to 11 Monday in the central Syrian region of Homs, a flashpoint surrounded by security forces waging a crackdown on anti-regime protesters, an activist said.
’The number of civilians killed Sunday in the towns of Rastan and Talbisa by gunfire from security forces now stands at 11,’ including a girl identified as Hajar al-Khatib, the activist told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Previously, the number of those killed in and around the city of Homs stood at seven.
’Two bodies were found at dawn on Monday in the Baba Amr neighbourhood of Homs,’ which the security forces had closed off with several roadblocks, the activist said.
Police were continuing to sweep the region as hundreds of people wounded in the crackdown were hospitalised in the nearby city of Hama due to the roadblocks.
State news agency SANA said four soldiers were killed and 14 wounded by ’terrorist groups’ in Talbisa on Sunday before some were arrested and a large quantity of weapons seized.
Activists said protesters took to the streets of Hama and Saraqeb, near Idleb in the northwest, during the night to call for the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Hundreds of people also marched on Sunday in Douma and Jdaidat, on the outskirts of Damascus, chanting ’Allahu Akbar’ or ’God is greatest,’ said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
On Friday, security forces killed at least 12 protesters in dispersing demonstrations against Assad’s regime, according to activists.
More than 1,000 people have been killed and 10,000 arrested since the revolt began, human rights groups say. Syrian authorities say 143 soldiers, security forces and police have been killed.