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Heavy shelling on Syria's restive Homs province kills seven

Arab World Materials 21 February 2012 13:15 (UTC +04:00)

Dozens of shells fell early Tuesday on restive areas inside the central Syrian province of Homs, killing at least seven as they targeted residential buildings, activists said dpa reported

"More than 120 shells have fallen for the past hour on Baba Amr, Inshaat, al-Khalidiyeh neighbourhoods," Omar Homsi, an activist based in Homs, told dpa by phone.

"The shelling today is aimed at destroying what is left of these neighbourhoods, even the makeshift clinic and the mosques," he said, adding that Syrian planes were hovering over the targeted areas.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that seven people had been killed in Baba Amr, including a child.

"Activists who are still in Baba Amr are unable to head to the other areas to try to help the wounded," Homsi added.

He said they had received information, from some "free officers" who were still among the government troops, that army forces would storm the areas in the coming few hours.

Activists inside Baba Amr appealed from the early hours of the morning on Arab and Western countries to save the people who were still living amid "miserable" conditions in the area.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said late Monday that it was negotiating with the Syrian authorities to enter the restive areas to bring in much-need medical and food supplies.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has put the death toll at more than 7,400 since a government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters began last March.

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