Syrians Fear Government Invasion After Deadline to Stop Protests Passes
Syrians in the city of Homs live in fear after a government issued, 72-hour deadline to stop anti-government protests and hand in weapons, comes to an end.
The warning was issued on Friday for residents in Homs, who are worried Syrian forces will overtake the city.
They fear a repeat of a 1982 invasion that killed thousands.
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Lt. Col. Mohamed Hamdo of the Free Syria Army, an opposition group, said that the military has dug trenches around the city and cut it off, according to a CNN report.
“The situation in Homs is really bad. There is no electricity, water and the communication lines are much worse. The food supply is also decreasing, mainly because little food is going in,” he told CNN.
The Syrian government denies these reports, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
According to the opposition, the Syrian army and security forces killed 21 people in the cities of Homs, Hama and Damascus, including four women and children on
Monday.
While Syrian television portrays a normal state, highlighting elections, there were reports of violence in the country on Monday.
The state news reported that three members of security forces were killed in a clash with what they said was a “terrorist gang”. They said four terrorists were also killed, according to The Guardian
Opposition sources claimed there were boycotts and attacks on polling stations, while school children protested against “fabricated elections”, according to reports.
Others wrote “death to the tyrant” and “down with the regime” on ballot papers in Homs and Hama in support of the Syrian revolution.
Hamdo said the Free Syrian Army conducted an operation late last night in Idlib, which killed eight Syrian soldiers and injured 22.
In Hama, the rebel council reported armored vehicles entering the city to break a strike that began on Sunday. The strike was to push the government to end its crackdown. It was intended to force the army to withdraw from Syrian cities and release thousands of detainees, according to The Guardian.
Thousands have been killed in Syria since March, when the uprisings began.
