13 more deaths reported in Syrian unrest | Baltimore News

13 more deaths reported in Syrian unrest | Baltimore News
clipped from article: The Christmas violence followed a day of bloodshed across the country, with the LCC saying 38 people were killed, including 25 in Homs.

Security forces shelled the neighborhoods of Baba Amr, Bayada, Khaldiyeh, and Karm Al-Zaitoun, and warplanes flew over the area, according to the LCC.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces assassinated Ghazi Mohammad Khaled Zugheib, former secretary general of the Homs’ division of the Baath Party, and his wife, Rajaa Mohammad Khaled Bakkar. That incident occurred during a raid on their house in Baba Amr.

State-run Syrian Arab News Agency, however, blamed the killings of the two on “armed terrorist groups.”

In the Baba Amr neighborhood, many of the 50,000 residents have fled out of fear or to escape worsening humanitarian conditions, Salim said.

He described a dire situation, with people targeted by government forces if they walk outside and supplies of vital medical services, fuel, heating oil and baby formula running low.

“We lack any sophisticated medical tool or equipment,” Salim said. “… We only use first aid kits and tools to deal with bullet wounds. Most of the wounded end up dying. … We do not have enough doctors or nurses to help the injured.

The attacks in Homs came a day after dual bombings struck the country’s capital, Damascus. Al-Assad’s government blamed terrorists inside and outside of Syria, but the opposition called the attacks the work of the regime.

On Sunday, security forces destroyed more than 50 shops in the Damascus suburb of Douma in an attempt to break an ongoing strike, the LCC said. It also reported security forces destroying shops in the Zamalka suburb.

The United States, which has called for al-Assad to step aside and has initiated sanctions against the regime, deplored the Friday bombings, saying there was “no justification for terrorism of any kind” and expressing hope that the strike doesn’t undermine the Arab League efforts

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