Syrian security forces unleashed a barrage of gunfire against protesters Wednesday, killing at least 11 people and leaving thousands cowering in their homes as France said President Bashar al-Assad’s deadly crackdown amounts to a crime against humanity.
Nine of the dead were in Homs, a hotbed of opposition to Mr. Assad’s autocratic regime. Two others were shot dead during raids in Sarameen, in northern Syria.
In a step the Syrian opposition says shows the regime is intractable despite increased international pressure, a planned visit by the Arab League secretary general Wednesday to push Mr. Assad to make major concessions to defuse the crisis was called off at the last minute at the government’s request.
In a visit to Moscow Wednesday, France’s Foreign Minister Alain Juppé accused the Assad regime of crimes against humanity and also called on Russia to back sanctions against Syria at the United Nations.
But after talks with Russia’s foreign and defense ministers, Mr. Juppé said that Moscow continues to disagree with France on the approach toward Syria.
The European Union formally implemented an oil embargo and fresh sanctions against Syria last week in the most significant move yet to isolate the regime. The EU is Syria’s largest single trading partner, with €7.2 billion ($10.4 billion) in business last year.
But Syria’s finance minister said Wednesday at a meeting of Arab finance chiefs in Abu Dhabi that is country will seek to expand trade ties with markets in Asia and elsewhere to bypass European economic sanctions,
Mohammad Jleilati did not name specific countries for stronger economic bonds, but listed Russia, China and others in Asia as traditionally «friendly» to Syria. Mr. Jleilati told reporters that economic growth in Syria has slumped to below 2%.
The latest effort to mediate in the conflict by the Arab League was postponed after Deputy Secretary-General Ahmed Ben Heli told reporters in Egypt that Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby will now visit Damascus on Saturday. He said the decision was made in a phone call between Mr. Elaraby and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem.
For days, security forces have been pursuing activists and anti-government protesters in Homs, part of a ferocious crackdown on the most serious challenge to the 40-year Assad dynasty.
«All through the night, there was shooting. The gunfire didn’t stop,» a resident of the city said by phone Wednesday. «I can’t tell exactly what is going on because it’s dangerous to go out.»
Omar Idilbi, a spokesman for the Local Coordination Committees, an activist network, said security forces simultaneously stormed several districts in the old part of the city, including the Bab Dreib, Bab Houd and the Bayada neighborhoods. Nine people were confirmed dead in ongoing shooting in those areas, the LCC said.
The London-based Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists across the country, said 10 were killed.
Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, has seen some of the largest anti-regime protests in Syria over the past months, despite repeated crackdowns.
Mobile telephones, land lines and Internet connections in some parts of Homs were cut off Wednesday. Many people were staying home because of roads blocked by security forces. Others were too scared to leave.
Syria has sealed the country off from foreign journalists and most international observers, insisting that foreigners are meddling, making it difficult to independently verify information coming out of the country.
Source: /online.wsj.com