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NEWS ABOUT: Baba Amr

UN Humanitarian Chief Tours Homs

As Syrian regime tries to scrub shattered city

(Newser) - UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos arrived in Damascus to begin her tour of Syria today, and is now touring the flashpoints of Homs and Baba Amr, the BBC reports. The Assad regime was moving desperately to clean up evidence of the recent shelling assault on the city ahead of her... More »

Troops Rounding Up, Killing Civilians: Fleeing Syrians

UN leaders to visit country this week

(Newser) - Following the departure of rebel fighters from the Baba Amr neighborhood , Syrian troops and pro-government militias have taken to the streets, rampantly grabbing, torturing, and killing men and boys, fleeing people tell the BBC . One woman said 35 males had been rounded up near her home, and two soldiers slit... More »

Arab Nations Poised to Arm Syrian Rebels

But US worries about protracted civil war

(Newser) - Members of the Arab League signaled this week that they're about to arm Syrian rebels. But American officials fear that strategy will thwart their more cautious approach, and could fuel a bloody, protracted civil war. Saudi Arabia and Qatar aim to aid the opposition "as soon as they... More »

Syrian Rebels Retreat From Homs Stronghold

Government troops take over Baba Amr neighborhood

(Newser) - Syria's opposition forces made a "tactical retreat" from a crisis-torn section of Homs today. The rebels left Baba Amr after a month of fighting, hoping to curb the threat to the 4,000 civilians who have stayed in the area despite the violence, al-Jazeera reports. Syrian government forces... More »

Syrian Opposition Forms Military Bureau

Rebels say they have so far kept the government out of Homs

(Newser) - Syria's main political opposition group today announced that it was forming a "military bureau" to unify and coordinate the Free Syrian army and other armed opposition groups opposing Bashar al-Assad. Speaking in Paris, the Syrian National Council's leader said they had originally hoped for a nonviolent revolt,... More »

Syria Launches Ground Assault to 'Clean' Baba Amr

Western journalists trapped inside city

(Newser) - Syrian ground troops advanced on Homs today, indicating that the regime was about to launch a ground assault to take the restive city. One Syrian official told the AP that the rebel-held Baba Amr neighborhood would be "cleaned" in a matter of hours. Three western journalists are still trapped... More »

UN: Syrian Snipers Targeting Children

Regime leaders accused of crimes against humanity

(Newser) - Syrian army snipers are deliberately targeting women and small children, and its security forces are dragging wounded people out of hospitals to be tortured, according to a United Nations report accusing the regime of crimes against humanity. Fragmentation mortar bombs have been fired into densely populated neighborhoods, and the orders... More »

Syrian Troops Surround Rebel City, Fire on Damascus Protesters

Red Cross pleads for humanitarian truce

(Newser) - Syrian troops are massing outside the rebellious city of Homs, and human rights groups fear that one of the bloodiest crackdowns of the 11-month uprising is imminent. The district of Baba Amr is an opposition stronghold, and residents aim to fight until "the last person," an activist tells... More »

Assad Orders Referendum on New Constitution

It would allow more parties, and include term limit

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered that a referendum be held later this month on a new constitution that would allow for additional political parties and limit the president to two 14-year terms, Syria's state-run TV station announced today. But opposition leaders immediately dismissed the gesture as an attempt... More »

Arab League Resolution OKs Arming Syrian Rebels

Homs shelling continues as UN warns of civil war

(Newser) - The Arab League has delivered a veiled threat to Bashar al-Assad's regime in the form of a resolution passed Sunday urging Arabs to "provide all kinds of political and material support" to Syrian rebels—and yes, "material support" means guns, diplomats confirm for Reuters . "We will... More »

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