Seven killed in Syria, as Assad plans new constitution

Oct 11, 2011, 16:31 GMT

Beirut - Syrian security forces continued Tuesday their crackdown on pro-democracy activists in the region of Homs, killing at least seven people, while reports indicated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is working on creating a new constitution for his country.

Mohammed Said Bkheitan, a senior official in the Syrian ruling Baath Party, said Assad will 'decide within two days the creation of a committee to prepare a new constitution.'

Bkheitan told the state-run Al-Watan newspaper that the committee's work on the issue will be complete by the end of the year.

The new document will then be submitted for a referendum, according to Bkheitan.

Meanwhile, the death toll continued to rise. 'Heavy shelling was reported in the al-Khalidiyeh area in Homs, as house-to-house searches were being carried by regime thugs for activists,' an activist based in Lebanon said earlier.

He told dpa that some 115 people were arrested in Homs on Tuesday.

The state-run media said four security personnel were killed by 'terrorists' in Homs, without specifying the area.

Damascus has blamed 'armed groups' for the unrest since rallies calling for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad began in mid-March.

According to the UN, more than 2900 people have been killed since anti-regime protests began in Syria in mid-March.

Syria's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters has drawn widespread condemnation.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) warned Tuesday Syria, one of the 57 members of the OIC, about the consequences of its continued use of force against anti-regime protesters.

OIC secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement that 'the use of force will only lead to more violence and bloodshed, thus exacerbating the crisis and making it more complex.'

'The continued military escalation in the light of continuing regional and global rejection of such escalation will push the country to slide towards internal risks which threaten peace, security and stability in the country and in the region,' Ihsanoglu warned.

He said the OIC was ready to do what it could 'to contain the current developments, and in the manner that would satisfy all parties.

Meanwhile, Kuwait's foreign minister Sheikh Mohamed al-Sabah told reporters Tuesday that the Arab foreign ministers are due meet to discuss developments in Syria without specifying the date.

'There will be a meeting of Arab foreign ministers to study the events in Syria,' al-Sabah told a news conference in Kuwait's capital.

'Consultations are under way to set a date,' he said.

Arab foreign Ministers met in Cairo on September 13 where they called on the Syrian authorities to 'immediately stop the bloodshed' in their country.