DAMASCUS - Syrian forces pressed a relentless assault on the protest city of Homs Wednesday, with dozens of civilians reported killed, hours after President Bashar al-Assad said he was committed to ending the bloodshed.
The barrage of gunfire, mortars and shells was launched at daybreak and continued during the day. State television said a car bomb had ripped through the central city, killing and wounding civilians as well as security officers. The blast hit the neighbourhood of Bayada, the television reported, blaming “armed terrorist gangs.” If confirmed, the attack would be the first of its kind in Homs. It came as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin insisted any outside intervention to stop the violence would be akin to behaving “like a bull in a china shop.” But France and Britain dismissed Moscow’s efforts to end nearly 11 months of bloodshed in Syria and cast doubt on Assad’s claim that he was “fully committed” to resolving the crisis.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said at least 62 people were killed across the country on Wednesday, including 50 in Homs. Among those killed in the beleaguered city were three entire families slain overnight by pro-regime thugs known as Shabiha, he said. They included at least three children aged five, seven and 15. The most intense shelling was in Baba Amr, where at least 23 buildings were completely destroyed, including a home hit by a rocket that killed a little girl. Activists in Homs said the widespread shelling was a clear bid to pave the way for a ground assault on Syria’s third city.
“Since dawn the shelling has been extremely intense and they are using rockets and mortars,” Omar Shaker, reached by satellite telephone from Beirut, told AFP. “They have destroyed all infrastructure and bombed water tanks and electricity poles. The humanitarian situation is extremely dire and food is lacking.
“We are trying to set up a field hospital but we have no medical supplies.” The shelling intensified as tanks were reportedly moving toward the city from Damascus, said Hadi Abdullah, another activist. “We fear a new massacre,” he told AFP by satphone.
Turkey plans an international conference “as soon as possible” with regional players and world powers in a fresh attempt to resolve the Syrian crisis, its foreign minister said Wednesday.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would speak on the phone with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, whose country voted down a UN resolution at the Security Council aimed at stopping the months-long bloodshed in Syria, he added.
“We are determined to establish a broad-based forum to promote international understanding with all countries concerned” with the developments in Syria, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a televised interview.
The conference could take place in Turkey or in another country but it must certainly be “in the region” and “as soon as possible”, he added.
Turkey has been engaged in an active diplomacy and trying to create a “new roadmap” on Syria, Davutoglu said, announcing that Erdogan would speak with Medvedev later Wednesday.
The Turkish premier had heralded Tuesday the new initiative after the collapse of the UN resolution at the weekend, while saying that the vetoes of Russia and China had given President Bashar al-Assad a “licence to kill.”
“We will start a new initiative with those countries who stand by the Syrian people, not the regime,” said Erdogan, vowing that his government would use all diplomatic means to draw the world’s attention to neighbouring Syria.
The details of the Turkish-led roadmap are not yet clear but the pro-government Sabah daily reported that Ankara was planning a “friends of Syria” meeting as a first stage, in cooperation with the Arab League.
In the next stage, it would hold a broad-based conference in Istanbul involving members of the UN Security Council, the European Union, and Arabs, said the daily.
Turkish diplomatic sources declined to comment on the report.
Davutoglu said Wednesday that his country would not allow the continuing bloodshed in Syria and the region to be dragged into instability while warning the Syrian administration once again not to be isolated.
“We hope that Syria, which is at the centre of the Middle East, will not be like North Korea,” he said.
However he ruled out any military intervention in Syria.
Davutoglu was heading for the United States later in the day for a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for further discussions on the Syrian crisis.
He will also meet US National Security Advisor Thomas Danilon and return to Turkey on Sunday, said a statement from the foreign ministry.
Turkey, which has a 910-kilometre border (560 mile) with Syria, has been at the forefront of international criticism against Damascus since an uprising began last March and has become a haven for opposition activists.
Rights groups say more than 6,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of the revolt.