Activists: At least 17 killed in latest Syrian clashes

[News_Editor]

Activists: At least 17 killed in latest Syrian clashes

2011-11-05 10:21:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS (BNO NEWS) -- At least seventeen Syrian civilians were killed on Friday when forces loyal to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad allegedly carried out a series of attacks, activists said, two days after the government accepted an Arab League plan to end the country's social unrest.

Syrian security forces fanned out in force after Friday prayers, surrounding mosques to prevent demonstrations and using gunfire to disperse crowds. At least seventeen civilians were reported killed, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Most of the victims were said to have been killed at a factory in the village of Kafrlaha in central Homs province. The activists said at least eleven workers were killed when an armed group loyal to the government entered the factory and opened fire.

At least two fatalities were reported in the city of Homs, two on the Syria-Jordan border and two more died in the southwestern city of Daraa. It was not possible to independently verify the reports due to reporting restrictions imposed by the Syrian government.

Meanwhile, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) claimed thirteen army and security forces were killed in Homs, Hama and Idleb provinces. "The martyrs were targeted by armed terrorist groups [..] while they were fulfilling their national duty to keep security and stability of the homeland," SANA said.

The latest attacks come after government forces killed at least 25 civilians nationwide and rounded up anti-government protesters on Thursday. A day earlier, on Wednesday, the government of embattled President Bashar al-Assad agreed to an Arab League plan to bring an end to the unrest.

The government agreed to pull its army off the streets, release people jailed since the protests began in March and allow international journalists and Arab League observers to monitor the moves. However, Syria has made previous pledges to withdraw armed forces from civilian areas but it was often only a brief pullout.

The Free Syrian Army -- a group of military deserters who have helped defend anti-government protesters -- said it would abide by the Arab League agreement "as long as the regime commits to the same," CNN reported earlier.

Pro-democracy demonstrations have spread across the country since mid-March, resulting in a fierce government crackdown which has left more than 3,000 people killed. The Syrian government has claimed violent acts against protesters have been carried out by 'terrorists dressed as soldiers,' although international observers have rejected these claims.

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