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Six killed in central Syria in fresh violence

Arab World Materials 6 December 2011 17:00 (UTC +04:00)
Syrian security forces killed Tuesday at least six people, five from the same family, in the central province of Homs
Six killed in central Syria in fresh violence

Syrian security forces killed Tuesday at least six people, five from the same family, in the central province of Homs, which has been a flashpoint for anti-government protests since the uprising started in mid-March, activists said, dpa reported.

Lebanon-based activists told dpa that Syrian troops have been storming the village of Houla since the early hours of the morning, and has so far arrested as many as 50 people.

The violence came after Syria announced Monday it has conditionally approved an Arab League peace plan to halt the bloodbath, which is threatening to drag the country into a civil war.

A Beirut-based Arab diplomat told dpa Tuesday that the conditions being put by Damascus were not accepted by the Arab League.

But he stressed that "the League is still keeping the door of negotiations with the Syrian regime opened to try to find a last minute solution to the crisis and reach a common factor."

Syria has asked the Arab League in letter to annul all decisions taken against it, including its suspension from the League last month, once it signs the protocol of the Arab league plan.

Meanwhile, the Syrian daily Al Watan newspaper said Tuesday that clashes erupted late Monday between the Syrian army and gunmen who were attacking army checkpoints in the province of Homs.

Quoting a medical source at the National Hospital in Homs, al- Watan said "38 unidentified and mutilated bodies with gunshots have arrived at the hospital." It added that those people were believed to have been kidnapped by armed gangs.

Syria has blamed armed gangs financed by the west and some Arab countries of igniting violence in the country.

Activists based in Syria told dpa that the 34 bodies of those found were people abducted by government security forces.

According to UN estimates more than 4,000 people have been killed in the government's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters across Syria.

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