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    July 21, 2011

Syrian Activists Report Intense Gunfire in Homs

   VOA News

   An activist for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says there is
   intense gunfire in the central city of Homs as security forces continue
   a crackdown on anti-government protesters.
   According to the activist, tanks moved to block off neighborhoods as
   government forces conducted raids and made arrests.
   The city is a center of recent protests against President Bashar
   al-Assad.
   Syrian rights activists and witnesses say pro-government forces have
   shot and killed at least 13 people in Homs since Monday. The French
   news agency reports the number of people killed in Homs has risen to at
   least 20, including seven who were mourning at a funeral.
   It is difficult to verify the accounts of the violence in Syria because
   the government has barred foreign media from reporting and traveling
   freely in the country.
   On Wednesday, the United States condemned a Syrian government order
   prohibiting the U.S. and French ambassadors from traveling outside
   Damascus without permission. The two diplomats angered the Syrian
   government by visiting the flashpoint city of Hama this month.
   A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said diplomats must be allowed to
   travel freely throughout Syria in order to document a brutal crackdown
   on anti-government protesters. She noted that the Syrian government
   refuses to allow international media, aid workers or human rights
   personnel freedom of access.
   The spokeswoman said the U.S. will respond accordingly if the
   government in Damascus inhibits the ability of diplomats to effectively
   carry out their responsibilities within Syria.
   Earlier Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem announced the
   restrictions for U.S. envoy Robert Ford and France's Eric Chevallier.
   He said if they defy the order, Syria will impose a ban on all
   diplomats leaving the capital.
   Ford and Chevallier say they traveled to Hama to show solidarity with
   residents who are under pressure from the government's crackdown on
   dissent.

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