BEIRUT — Syrian troops shelled rebellious areas in central and northern Syria on Saturday in the latest push to quash the uprising against President Bashar Assad, but faced fierce resistance from army defectors, activists said.
BEIRUT — Syrian troops shelled rebellious areas in central and northern Syria on Saturday in the latest push to quash the uprising against President Bashar Assad, but faced fierce resistance from army defectors, activists said.
Much of the day’s fighting focused on the northeastern town of Saraqeb, which activists said regime troops and tanks entered from the north amid heavy shelling.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting reached the central market district where army defectors damaged a tank and three armored personnel carriers. Late Saturday, it said two rebel fighters and nine government troops had been killed in the clashes.
“Large numbers of residents are fleeing the town,” said Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, which has a network of activists inside Syria.
Government troops also shelled parts of the central city of Homs and the nearby town of al-Qusair. Activist videos posted online Saturday showed explosions in residential neighborhoods sending up balls of flame and huge plumes of black smoke.
The Observatory said 14 people were killed Saturday in Homs province. Another group, the Local Coordination Committees, put the death toll there at 24. Both said more than 40 people were killed nationwide.