Activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported today that 33 people were killed in continuing political violence, including five Syrian soldiers and 28 civilians.

The five soldiers were killed in Homs Province in a clash with military defectors that are increasingly active across the nation. The 28 civilians were mostly slain in Idlib and Homs provinces later in the evening.

The reports come just one day after the Arab League proposed an “exit strategy” for President Assad, urging him to transfer power to his vice president under a deal resembling the Gulf Cooperation Council’s plan for succession in Yemen.

Syrian officials condemned the plan, insisting it was an unacceptable violation of national sovereignty to even propose the idea. In the meantime, it appears civil war between the military and defectors continues, with civilian demonstrators — both for and against the regime — caught in the middle.

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