- Heavy machine guns and artillery fired on town of Kfar Owaid
- Army defectors shelled as they leave their posts
- Syria finally allows international monitors into country after weeks of stalling
- Opposition group claims 250 killed in two days and appeals for UN intervention to protect civilians
Syrian armed forces have carried out live firing exercises as a show of strength after 111 people were killed in one town yesterday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops using heavy machine guns and artillery carried out the killings in the town of Kfar Owaid, in the northwestern province on Idlib.
Security forces pursued anti-government activists and army defectors through the town as troops shelled areas where they were thought to be hiding.
Bravado: The display of military manoeuvres was meant to deter international action similar to that which took place to oust Libyan leader Muammar GaddafiThe country’s main opposition group the Syrian National Council (SNC) said 250 people had been killed in total on Monday and Tuesday in ‘bloody massacres’, and that the Arab League and United Nations must intervene to protect civilians.
It comes as state television showed pictures of military manoeuvres and said they were meant to show Syrian forces were ready to ‘repulse any aggression the enemies of our nations might think about’.
The 111 people were killed at the same time Syria agreed to allow in foreign monitors under an Arab League plan aimed at stopping bloodshed in the country after weeks of stalling.
Around 70 of those shot dead were believed to be army defectors.
Critics are deeply sceptical that the agreement to allow the monitors in is anything other than further stalling as international pressure on President Bashar Assad grows.
The high toll for two days of violence, among the highest since March, has reinforced that scepticism.
Force: Military helicopters take part in the exercise as the contrail of a missile passes them
Force: Surface to air missiles like this were fired in the exercise. The move follows some of the worst bloodshed seen in the nine months of unrest in SyriaThe conflict in Syria has become increasingly militarised in recent weeks, with clashes nearly every day between army defectors and troops.
Some of the most intense violence has occured in the province of Idlib, with another 70 army defectors killed as they deserted their posts near the Turkish border.
The SNC has demanded ‘an emergency U.N. Security Council session to discuss the (Assad) regime’s massacres in Jabal al-Zawiyah, Idlib and Homs, in particular’ and called for ‘safe zones’ to be set up under international protection.
It also said those regions should be declared disaster areas and urged the International Red Crescent and other relief organisations to provide humanitarian aid.
The Arab League plans to call for the removal of troops and heavy weapons from city streets, the start of talks with opposition leaders and allowing human rights workers and journalists into the country.
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said yesterday that an advance observer team would go to Syria on Thursday to prepare the way for 150 monitors due to arrive by end-December.
Mr Assad’s regime agreed to allow monitors into the country after Arab leaders warned they would turn to the UN Security Council to try and end a brutal crackdown that is believed to have killed at least 5,000 people since March.
Manoeuvres: The Syrian army has been ordered to attack civilians as the brutal regime ignores international calls to end the bloodshed
Defiance: Demonstrators protest against President Bashar al-Assad in the al-Midan district of Damascus
Autocratic: Syrian troops using heavy machine guns and artillery killed 111 people in Kfar Owaid in just 24 hours
Brutal: Supporters wave flags in front of a mural of President Bashar Assad. He has finally allowed international monitors into the country after weeks of stallingThe advance team of monitors will be led by Arab League assistant secretary-general Sameer Seif el-Yazal.
Eventually, around 500 observers will be deployed around the country.
State TV footage showed warplanes and helicopters firing missiles at targets in an undisclosed desert area.
It said: ‘The manoeuvres aim to test the capabilities of the air force and air defence to repulse any aggression the enemies of our nation might think about.’
Two weeks ago, Syrian forces conducted a similar drill. The exercises appear to be meant as a deterrent against any international action similar to the Nato air campaign that helped oust Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Yesterday, President Assad issued a new law under which anyone found guilty of distributing weapons with the aim of committing ‘terrorist acts’ would be sentenced to death.
The Syrian government claims armed gangs and terrorists are behind the uprising.
