Defying the terms of a regional peace initiative that President Bashar al-Assad agreed to uphold last week, Syrian security forces killed at least 13 people in Homs, the opposition said, bringing the three-day death toll in the restive city to more than 40.
The Arab League initiative was seen as an "eleventh hour opportunity" to restore a semblance of peace in Syria, where more than 3,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Mr Assad began nearly eight months ago.
"The failure of the Arab solution will have disastrous consequences in Syria and the region," Nabil Elaraby, the Arab League's secretary-general, said from his Cairo headquarters yesterday.
Under the terms of the peace plan, the Syrian government was meant to order tanks off the streets, end the killing of protesters, release 70,000 political prisoners and embark on negotiations with the opposition.
Although a few hundred prisoners have been freed, Mr Assad's non-compliance prompted fresh hints that Syria could be suspended from the Arab League. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Sunday, November 06, 2011
