Opposition: 125 Dead in Syrian Violence
At least 125 people were killed Monday across Syria, including 64 who died in a “horrifying massacre” at a checkpoint in Homs province, opposition activists said.
Those killed at a checkpoint in the Abel area were attempting to flee shelling in the Baba Amr neighborhood in the city of Homs, said the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists.
“Reports said security members and thugs kidnapped the women among them,” the network said in a statement. Residents found 47 corpses in one area and 17 in a second area, it said. The bodies were delivered to the national hospital in Homs by the Red Crescent Society, the Local Coordination Committees said.
A total of 89 people were killed Monday in Homs, an opposition stronghold, according to the opposition network. They included four defected soldiers, three woman and three children.
The deaths came on a day when Syrian officials announced that the nation’s new draft constitution received approval and the European Union imposed new sanctions on the country amid ongoing clashes.
Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another opposition group, said explosions rocked Homs and shelling was occurring in Baba Amr. Twenty people were wounded when a large shell struck an anti-government gathering in Homs, the group said.
The national hospital in Homs reported receiving 68 civilian corpses Monday, the opposition group said.
On Sunday, nearly half of the 55 people killed across Syria were in Homs, opposition activists said.