217 civilians die in Syrian 'massacre'

Syrian forces killed at least 217 civilians, including women and children, in a "massacre" in the central city of Homs, a rights group said Saturday, ahead of a UN vote on the repression. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 138 of the fatalities were caused by mortar fire in the Al-Khalidiya district of Homs, which has become a flashpoint of the 10-month revolt against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Another 79 people were killed in other parts of town. Following violence elsewhere, including Damascus, during the day, Friday s overall death toll was around 250 and could still rise, the Observatory said. "It s a real massacre," the observatory s director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, calling for the "immediate intervention" of the Arab League to end the killing. The Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya television channels showed images of dozens of bodies on the ground. The violence broke out after thousands of people across Syria defied the government crackdown to mark the 30th anniversary of a notorious 1982 massacre in the central city of Hama that killed thousands. News of the latest deaths came as a diplomat in New York said members of the UN Security Council would meet Saturday morning for a vote on a resolution condemning the violent repression in Syria. The text is the same as a draft resolution sent to the council s 15 members on Thursday. It highlights the UN body s support for an Arab League plan for a democratic transition while leaving out explicit references to calls for Assad to step down, the diplomat said Friday. The Syrian rights group, called on the people "to take to the streets in the towns and villages and to rise up against the regime which is committing a real massacre right now in Homs." The Homs violence followed an already bloody day in which, the Syrian Observatory said, at least 35 other people were reported killed across Syria, among them 16 civilians. The Britain-based group said 14 soldiers were killed in clashes with the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and that five army deserters also lost their lives. In addition, one person died of wounds sustained on Thursday, and the bodies of three other people were either found or returned to their families.