Explosions rock Syrian city
Gunfire and explosions erupted in the city at the heart of Syria’s anti-government uprising today as soldiers launched a massive crackdown, witnesses said.
Terrified residents cowered inside their homes and used mosque loudspeakers to call for blood donations to help the wounded.
Details about the siege in Homs were sketchy, as most witnesses said they were too scared to even look out of their windows.
The city has seen some of the most intense violence as the regime tries to stamp out a revolt that has lasted more than four months.
“I can see smoke billowing from the neighbourhood,” a witness told The Associated Press by telephone from the Bab Sbaa area of Homs, about 160km from Damascus. Heavy gunfire crackled in the background. “We cannot leave our homes.”
Calls for blood donations blared from mosque loudspeakers, raising fears of mass casualties. But the gunfire was too intense for people to collect any victims.
As darkness fell, another resident said the violence had tapered off, with only intermittent cracks of gunfire. He said Syrian soldiers in personnel carriers were leaving the area.
The regime has banned nearly all foreign media and restricted coverage, making it nearly impossible to independently verify events on the ground or casualty figures.
Activists say up to 50 people have been killed in Homs since Saturday, a wave of violence which has signalled a potentially dangerous turn in the uprising. According to witnesses and activists, much of the bloodshed has taken on sectarian overtones – a fearsome development in Syria’s religiously mixed society.
Opposition figures have accused President Bashar Assad’s minority Alawite regime of trying to stir up trouble with the Sunni majority to blunt the growing enthusiasm for the uprising. The protesters have been careful to portray their movement as free of any sectarian overtones.
Sectarian warfare would be a dire scenario in Syria, evoking painful memories of the worst days of the Iraq war. The Syrian regime’s supporters have exploited those fears by portraying Mr Assad as the only force that can guarantee law and order.
Human rights groups say more than 1,600 people have been killed in Assad’s crackdown on a largely peaceful protest movement. But authorities blame the unrest on gunmen and religious extremists looking to stir up sectarian strife.
