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U.N. says Syrian helicopters fire on rebel strongholds
Source: Reuters
U.N. says Syrian helicopters fire on rebel strongholds
By Dominic Evans
BEIRUT | Mon Jun 11, 2012 2:17pm EDT
(Reuters) - United Nations monitors said Syrian helicopters fired on rebel strongholds north of Homs on Monday and said many women and children were reported trapped in the city, calling for "immediate and unfettered access" to the conflict zones.
International mediator Kofi Annan also expressed grave concern about violence in Homs and in Haffeh, a mainly Sunni Muslim town near the Mediterranean coast, where the U.S. State Department said it feared a "potential massacre".
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"UN observers reported heavy fighting in Rastan and Talbiseh, north of (Homs), with artillery and mortar shelling, as well as firing from helicopters, machine guns and smaller arms," U.N. spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh said in a statement.
It was the first time the U.N. monitors have verified repeated allegations by activists that Assad's forces have fired from helicopters in the military crackdown on rebels.
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By Dominic Evans
BEIRUT | Mon Jun 11, 2012 2:17pm EDT
(Reuters) - United Nations monitors said Syrian helicopters fired on rebel strongholds north of Homs on Monday and said many women and children were reported trapped in the city, calling for "immediate and unfettered access" to the conflict zones.
International mediator Kofi Annan also expressed grave concern about violence in Homs and in Haffeh, a mainly Sunni Muslim town near the Mediterranean coast, where the U.S. State Department said it feared a "potential massacre".
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
"UN observers reported heavy fighting in Rastan and Talbiseh, north of (Homs), with artillery and mortar shelling, as well as firing from helicopters, machine guns and smaller arms," U.N. spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh said in a statement.
It was the first time the U.N. monitors have verified repeated allegations by activists that Assad's forces have fired from helicopters in the military crackdown on rebels.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/11/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE84S0P020120611
