Syrian military official 'killed in Damascus'

2012-02-13 07:19:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BNO NEWS) -- A Syrian military official was killed by an "armed terrorist group" outside his house in Damascus on Saturday, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

Brigadier General Dr. Issa al-Kholi, the head of a military hospital, was killed as he left his home in the north of Damascus. A SANA reporter was informed that three gunmen waited outside Dr. al-Kholi's home in Rukn al-Din district and shot him, the agency claimed.

No other details were provided.

Meanwhile, activists reported that 15 people died on Saturday in the city of Homs, which has been under heavy attack in recent days. Activists say more than 400 people have been killed since last Saturday alone, the BBC reported.

The violence came a day after state media reported that 28 people were killed in two suicide bomb attacks in Syria's second city of Aleppo. It was not immediately known who was behind the attack as the government blamed terrorists while opposition groups accused the government of staging the attacks for propaganda purposes.

The United Nations said the UN General Assembly will meet on Monday to discuss the situation in Syria. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, will brief Member States on the latest developments after a request from General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser.

Last week, the UN Security Council voted on a draft resolution to end the situation in Syria, where thousands of people have been killed over the past 10 months in a government crackdown against a popular uprising. The resolution called for an immediate cessation of violence by all parties and progress towards national dialogue that leads to a peaceful political resolution of the crisis.

However, permanent members Russia and China vetoed the draft resolution, drawing worldwide condemnation.

According to the most recent figures released by the United Nations in January, at least 5,400 people have been killed as a result of violence during the uprising. Syrian human rights and opposition activists say the figure has since surpassed 7,000 and includes hundreds of children.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-02-13

Many more deaths coming. The tally % will probably lean more toward entrenched security as the troubles drag on. Next week's headline: Assad and family take plane to Iran.