Rebel Sources: Syrian Army Killed 35 in Homs as Clashes Intensify

Fighting Escalates, Putting Civilians in Jeopardy

According to Syrian rebels, fighting in central Homs today left at least 35 people killed, after the Syrian military shelled the area. The death toll, as is so often the case, could not be confirmed.

But death tolls of this size aren’t surprising at this point in Syria, and rebel forces have been launching a growing number of attacks since declaring themselves no longer bound by the UN ceasefire last week, and it seems inevitable that this fighting, which is mostly in densely populated areas, is claiming a growing civilian bystander toll.

The ceasefire didn’t last very long, but for a time it did bring Syria a few weeks of comparatively lower death tolls. Western officials have insisted that the regime is exclusively to blame for the ceasefire’s failure.

UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan hasn’t given up on the ceasefire yet, however, urging the international community to unite to rescue it. This too spawned a round of Western condemnations, since working with “everybody” in the international community would include Iran.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.