UN Monitor Chief in Syria Says Violence ‘Unprecedented’
The head of the U.N. observer team in Syria, Major General Robert Mood, is calling levels of violence in the country “unprecedented” and is urging both the government and the opposition to implement a cease-fire.
Syrian government forces continue to pound rebel-held districts of Homs Thursday with field artillery, mortar rounds and tank shells, sending clouds of smoke and dust into the air and setting fire to buildings. Live webcam images showed wide-scale destruction in many areas.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 27 people killed nationwide Thursday, a day after 99 people died in violence that has plagued the country for nearly 16 months.
Witnesses also report that the government siege is preventing food and medicine from entering several hard-hit districts. Many civilians remain trapped in the city and Red Cross teams are still being prevented from evacuating the sick and wounded.
