Syrian forces storm restive areas, kill 47, activists say

Feb 8, 2012, 6:33 GMT

Beirut - Syrian forces on Wednesday attacked restive areas in the central province of Homs, killing at least 47 people, activists said.

'The security forces started to storm the al-Khalidiyeh, al-Inshaat, Bab Amr neighbourhoods, targeting residential areas and hospitals,' Omar Idibi, spokesman of the Syrian opposition Local Coordination Committees, told dpa in Beirut.

'Initial reports from inside Homs said 47 are killed and scores of people were injured and cannot reach the hospital,' he added.

The government troops had arrested several injured people in the hospital where they were being treated, he said.

The targeted areas have been the hub of anti-regime protests since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March.

The attack came a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with Assad and pledged to try to solve the crisis.

Assad said late Tuesday that he would 'welcome any efforts toward a solution to the crisis,' the state news agency SANA reported.

The United Nations has said more than 5,400 people were killed from mid-March, when the Syrian regime began its crackdown on pro-democracy activists, to January, when the UN stopped its body count.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which regularly updates the number of casualties, says more than 6,800 people have died.