Frantic Syrians: 'They are slaughtering us' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Frantic Syrians: 'They are slaughtering us' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

clip from article: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based activist group, said security forces killed 15 people across the country yesterday, six of them in Homs. An activist network said 34 had been killed on Monday.

Some protesters shouted "We want international protection" in a video posted on YouTube apparently showing an encounter with the monitors. Some residents argued and pleaded with them to go farther into the Baba Amr quarter, where clashes have been especially fierce.

There was the sound of gunfire after a resident yelled at one monitor to repeat what he had just told his headquarters.

"You were telling the head of the mission that you cannot cross to the second street because of the gunfire. Why don't you say it to us?" the man shouted, grabbing the unidentified monitor by his jacket.

Gunshots crackled nearby as two monitors and two men wearing orange vests stood amid a crowd of residents, one begging the team to "come and see; they are slaughtering us, I swear."

The head of the mission said the first visit was "very good."

"I am returning to Damascus for meetings, and I will return tomorrow to Homs," Sudanese Gen. Mustafa Dabi said. "The team is staying in Homs. Today was very good, and all sides were responsive."

Activist reports just before the monitors arrived said that as many as a dozen tanks were seen leaving Baba Amr and that others were being hidden to fashion an impression of relative normality in the city while observers were around.

Read more: Frantic Syrians: 'They are slaughtering us' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/world/s_773956.html#ixzz1ho2XdGTn