More than 100 killed in new Syria massacre

DAMASCUS

Children watch cartoons in a classroom of a school in Kafranbel in Idlib. More than 100 people were killed in Homs yesterday, activists claim. REUTERS photo

More than 100 civilians have been killed in a new “massacre” in Syria, a watchdog said yesterday.
 
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths came when the army swept through farmlands north of Homs on Jan. 15, where around 1,000 people had sought refuge from fighting ravaging the central city.
 
“The Syrian regime carried out a new massacre on Tuesday claiming 106 victims, including women and children,” said the Britain-based watchdog which relies on a network of activists and medics on the ground. Witnesses said several members of the same family were among those killed, some in fires that raged through their homes and others in cold blood, including 32 clan members shot dead.

Capital of revolution

Homs, dubbed “the capital of the revolution” by Syria’s opposition, is the largest and most strategic province in the country, lying on key trade routes near the borders with Lebanon and Iraq, and with its southwestern areas not far from Damascus.

Troops and rebels have been battling to gain dominance in the city and the province, with many areas under siege by regime forces for more than six months.