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    March 04, 2012

Red Cross Appeals to Syrian Authorities to Enter Rebel Stronghold

   VOA News
   Men try to get gasoline in a gas station in downtown Idlib, north
   Syria, Saturday, March 3, 2012. Photo: AP
   Men try to get gasoline in a gas station in downtown Idlib, north
   Syria, Saturday, March 3, 2012.

   The International Committee of the Red Cross is appealing to Syrian
   authorities to let the humanitarian organization deliver badly needed
   food and other aid to thousands of people stranded in the rebel
   stronghold of Homs.
   Activists say the humanitarian situation is dire in the Baba Amr
   district, with food, water and electricity running out as government
   forces continue to bombard the city.
   ICRC spokesman Sean Maguire told Britain's Sky News Saturday a convoy
   of seven trucks carrying medical supplies and food entered Homs but was
   not allowed to go to Baba Amr. Maguire said the Red Cross was told it
   is not safe to proceed.
   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is demanding unconditional
   humanitarian access to Syrian cities, saying there were "grisly
   reports" of summary executions and torture in Homs.
   Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the Syrian government's
   "savagery must stop."
   China is also calling for an immediate cease-fire, and for talks
   between the Syrian government and opposition. But a Syrian Foreign
   Ministry spokesman says there must not be any interference in the
   country's internal affairs under the pretext of humanitarian issues.
   China and Russia have vetoed two U.N. resolutions condemning Syria.
   Arab satellite channels reported that more 40 Syrian soldiers who tried
   to defect at an airbase in Idlib province were executed. In the same
   province, residents said cemetery workers were burying people in parks
   because the graveyards were targeted by Syrian forces.
   Meanwhile, the remains of two journalists killed in a shelling attack
   on Baba Amr on February 22 - American journalist Marie Colvin and
   French photographer Remi Ochlik - left Syria late Saturday on board a
   French plane to Paris. Their bodies were handed over to diplomats
   earlier in the day.
   The U.N. says more than 7,500 people have been killed since the revolt
   began last March. Syrian officials blame the uprising on foreign-backed
   armed "terrorists" who, the government says, have killed more than
   2,000 security personnel.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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