Death toll rises as crackdown escalates in Syria

Sep 7, 2011, 22:56 GMT

Beirut/Cairo - The crackdown by Syrian security forces against pro-democracy protesters intensified late Wednesday, with up to 34 dead, mostly people from the flashpoint city of Homs, activists based in Lebanon told the German Press Agency dpa.

'The security forces are killing the injured at the doors of hospitals in Homs,' an activist, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, told dpa.

'Syrian troops are using tanks to shell areas across Homs, snipers to kill people and helicopters to chase escaping protesters.'

Activists posted film clips on Youtube, showing the dead and injured in Homs apparently being shot by the security forces. The film clips showed a young man being shot in Homs by snipers.

The casualty reports and the Youtube clips could not be verified because the Damascus government has banned foreign and Arab journalists from entering Syria.

The casualties on Wednesday were mainly in the city of Homs.

Meanwhile, Syrian television aired footage of 13 dead soldiers but did not say how or when they died.

Amid the escalation of violence in Syria, the Damascus government Wednesday postponed a visit by Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi to discuss reforms and reach a solution to end the crisis.

His visit was postponed because al-Arabi met with Syrian opposition, which angered the Syrian regime, sources told dpa in Beirut. Earlier Wednesday, the Arab League confirmed that the visit would go ahead on Saturday.

An Arab League spokesman, Mutaz Salah al-Din, said Arab foreign ministers would discuss the Syrian crisis at a special meeting next week.

The escalation of the crackdown on Syria pro-democracy protesters raised condemnation from Western countries.

'The Syrian regime has committed crimes against humanity,' French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said during a meeting Wednesday with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

The UN estimates 2,200 people have been killed in the uprising. Human rights groups say that more than 10,000 Syrians are currently in prison.

The Syrian government has repeatedly denied attacking peaceful protesters, saying that security forces have suffered casualties while fighting what they call 'armed terrorist gangs.'

On Wednesday, al-Assad issued a decree amending two articles in the penal code aimed to discourage demonstrations and public gatherings, according to Syrian state television. The amendments, to be debated later by the parliament, propose punishing those accused of disturbing 'public peace' with jail terms ranging from one month to one year, the station reported.

The decree comes amid mounting pressure on al-Assad's government to halt oppression of pro-democracy protesters and implement promised reforms.

Robert Ford, US ambassador in Syria, wrote in a Facebook posting Wednesday: 'The international community and the protest movement do not believe that Syria's leadership has the ability or will to achieve any radical political reforms the Syrian people are asking for.'

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Jleilati said the six-month-old unrest was driving down the country's economic growth.

'The violence has driven down economic growth expectations to 1 per cent for 2011 and 3 per cent in 2012, from the 5.5 per cent recorded last year,' Jleilati told reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of an Arab meeting in Abu Dhabi.

'The current circumstances, no doubt, have some negative impact on the economy. We hope to overcome it through reforms.'