Unrest in central, north Syria leaves 23 people dead: activists

The London-based Observatory for Human Rights was cited Thursday by Al-Jazeera TV and BBC networks as reporting that 21 people were killed in the central city of Homs and two others in northern Idlib province.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the observatory, reportedly said that there was heavy shooting in the Bab Sba'a area and other neighborhoods in Homs.

The BBC cited activists as commenting that the Syrian authorities have ramped up its efforts in recent weeks to suppress the protests and made large-scale arrests. It also said Syrian soldiers in tanks were spotted early Wednesday entering Homs.

The Local Coordination Committees (LCC), another activists' network, said security forces "opened fire and sound bombs to terrorize the population near the police headquarters around the castle in Homs," according to BBC.

Phone lines and internet services were cut off in parts of Homs, said the LCC.

The reports, however, could not be independently verified as journalists are banned from heading to the restive areas.

Syria has been accusing Al-Jazeera and other media of ignoring the facts on the ground as well as incitement and fabricating events in their coverage of the protests.

Meanwhile, Syrian official news agency SANA said late Wednesday that eight law-enforcement and security members were killed by armed groups in several areas in Homs.

It said special apparatuses had dealt with the armed group and left five of its members killed and others arrested; Kazinform cites Xinhua.

To learn more go to www.xinhuanet.com/english2010