LEAD: 27 soldiers, civilians killed as Arab League meets on Syria

Nov 16, 2011, 13:52 GMT

Cairo/Rabat - At least 27 Syrian soldiers and civilians were killed Wednesday in clashes in different parts of the country, hours before Arab League foreign ministers were to meet in Morocco to review if the Syrian government had complied with a deal to end the crackdown on protesters.

Syrian army deserters attacked a military intelligence office in Harasta, near the capital Damascus, killing six soldiers and wounding more than 20.

'The Syrian Free Army (deserters) struck with rockets and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades),' said Omar Idlibi, the Beirut-based spokesman for the opposition Syrian Local Coordination Committees.

Army defectors also killed eight soldiers and wounded dozens in an attack on a security checkpoint in the town of Kafr Zeta in Hama, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

At least 13 civilians were killed when Syrian troops fired on anti-government protesters in several areas of the country, according to the opposition General Syria Revolution Committees.

Seven of the deaths took place in the restive province of Homs, five in Idlib near the border with Turkey and one near Damascus, it said.

It is hard to independently verify news from Syria as the authorities have barred foreign media from the country.

Meanwhile, Arab ministers were to meet later Wednesday in the Moroccan capital Rabat to discuss how to protect civilians in Syria. Damascus has said it will not attend.

The head of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi, said Wednesday in Rabat that all measures should be taken to 'stop bloodshed' in Syria.

On Wednesday, the renegade Syrian Free Army announced the formation of a military council to oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

'This period requires the Free Syrian Army to establish an interim military council,' said a statement by the group posted on the website of the opposition Syrian Revolution 2011.

The council aims to 'oust the current regime, protect Syrian civilians from the regime's oppression and prevent chaos and acts of revenge.'

Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, who defected from the army to form Syrian Free Army in July, is to head the council, the statement said.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in Syria since pro-democracy protests began in mid-March, according to the United Nations.