Fresh violence in Syria as UN warns of civil war

By Elizabeth A. Kennedy

Associated Press

Published: Tuesday, Feb. 14 2012 12:20 a.m. MST

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This image from amateur video made available by Shaam News Network, purports to show a Syrian military tank in Daraa, Syria, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012. An activist group says Syrian rebels have repelled a push by government tanks into a key central town held by forces fighting against President Bashar Assad's regime. The Arab League called for the Security Council to create a joint Arab-U.N. peacekeeping force for Syria and urged Arab states to sever all diplomatic contact with Damascus.

Shaam News Network via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT, Associated Press

Summary

Syrian activists say government forces have renewed their assault on the rebellious city of Homs as the U.N. human rights chief raised fears of civil war.

BEIRUT — Syrian activists say government forces have renewed their assault on the rebellious city of Homs as the U.N. human rights chief raised fears of civil war.

The Local Coordination Committees activist group said Homs was under "brutal shelling" on Tuesday.

Syrian forces have been shelling the city for more than a week. The latest onslaught began last Saturday to retake parts of the city captured by rebel forces.

With diplomatic efforts bogged down, the conflict is taking on the dimensions of a civil war, with army defectors clashing almost daily with soldiers.

U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay warned on Monday that the Security Council's failure to take action has emboldened the Syrian government to launch an all-out assault.

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