Syria shells Homs for 10th day as EU threatens new sanctions

Feb 14, 2012, 17:05 GMT

Beirut - Syrian forces on Tuesday shelled the besieged city of Homs for a tenth consecutive day as the European Union prepared to impose a new round of sanctions on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking in Berlin ahead of talks with Arab League head Nabil al-Arabi, said the European Union would impose new sanctions on Syria to support the organization's efforts to end 11 months of bloodshed.

'The League has a firm stance,' Merkel said. 'The European Union supports this stance and we will reinforce you (by imposing) additional sanctions as well.' She gave no further details.

Western powers and the Arab League have been looking at new measures to stop the escalating violence after Russia and China this month vetoed an Arab-Western draft resolution at the UN Security Council calling on al-Assad to hand over power to his deputy.

The Syrian army has intensified its assault on Homs since the February 4 veto, besieging the central city and shelling the Baba Amr neighbourhood, the centre of anti-regime protests, on a daily basis.

Activists said shelling attacks killed at least 30 people in Baba Amr on Tuesday, and some 100,000 people were unable to flee because of the heavy bombardment.

'People are trapped without food, fuel, electricity and medical supplies,' activist Omar Homsi told dpa by phone from Homs. 'They are shelling any car that tries to leave the area.'

He said army vehicles had totally surrounded Baba Amr, where hundreds of rebel fighters from the Free Syrian Army were holed up.

'They have decided to fight and die in the neighbourhood,' he said of the rebels.

The head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman, confirmed the heavy shelling and described the situation in Homs as 'disastrous.'

The Syrian government launched the assault on Homs on the same day that Russia and China vetoed the Arab-Western draft resolution. The Syrian opposition and Western countries have accused Russia and China of giving al-Assad a 'green light' to crush dissent.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the UN General Assembly on Monday that the Security Council's failure to adopt a resolution had emboldened the Syrian regime to 'launch an all-out assault in an effort to crush dissent with overwhelming force.'

The Arab League has proposed sending an Arab peacekeeping mission to Syria that would also include UN peacekeepers. The plan has been rejected by Syria.

EU foreign ministers are to debate news sanctions against Syria at the end of the month. The European Union has already imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on dozens of Syrian officials as well an arms embargo and sanctions targeting the oil sector.

US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have also discussed the possibility of tightening sanctions against Syria, a spokesman for the British premier said Tuesday.

In the province of Hama, which is close to Homs, Syrian troops stormed the al-Hamidyeh neighbourhood, the site of recent anti-government protests, killing six people and arresting more than 20 men, activists said.

'Those regime thugs want to terrorize women and children by doing such acts,' Hussein al-Hamwai told dpa, adding that more than 20 people were wounded.

Activists said government forces stormed suburbs of Damascus and managed to regain control of the town of Zabadani, north of the capital.

They added that security forces killed Ahmad Saeed Habboush, a member of the Tunis-based Arab Human Rights Organization, near the capital Damascus. The report could not be confirmed.

Tunisia plans to host a 'Friends of Syria' conference on February 24 to establish a contact group and discuss ways to step up pressure on al-Assad's government.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which regularly updates the number of casualties, says more than 7,200 people have died in the uprising.