BEIRUT — Syrian troops fired tear gas and bullets on thousands of protesters who spilled out of mosques after noon prayers Friday, activists said.
State media reported that bombs and shootings killed 17 soldiers as the latest diplomatic efforts failed to halt more than 13 months of bloodshed in the country.
Opposition activists reported that at least 11 Syrian civilians were killed in regime shelling and other attacks Friday, the main day of the week for protests calling for the ouster of President Bashar Assad.
The United Nations hopes to have 30 observers in Syria next week to monitor the tenuous cease-fire between regime troops and the opposition.
France’s U.N. ambassador said the Security Council reached a tentative agreement Friday night on a resolution that would expand the number of cease-fire observers to 300.
Ambassador Gerard Araud said the text of a resolution negotiated over many hours Friday would be sent to capitals overnight and that the council would meet this morning for a vote. The final draft merged two rival texts proposed by Russia and European Council members.
The U.N. also is trying to ramp up its humanitarian response and send more food, medicine and aid workers to Syria, said John Ging, head of emergency response at the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The whole infrastructure of the country is under strain,” Ging said, adding that the Syrian regime has finally acknowledged that there is a “serious humanitarian need” and that he hopes this will ease the aid mission.
Ging said the idea is to help 1 million people over six months with food, medical assistance and emergency supplies. U.N. deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said the World Food Program, through the Syrian Red Crescent, had given food to about 100,000 Syrians in need, a figure expected to double in a month.
The U.N. estimates about 230,000 Syrians have been displaced and more than 9,000 killed since the uprising against Assad erupted more than a year ago. The revolt began with largely peaceful protests but has grown increasingly violent as the opposition has taken up arms in response to a brutal regime crackdown.
A U.N.-brokered cease-fire that technically went into effect last week has been steadily unraveling, with regime forces continuing to shell rebel-held neighborhoods in the central city of Homs and opposition fighters ambushing government troops. Still, the truce is still seen as the most viable way to end the bloodshed, simply for a lack of other options.
Related news
Thousands protest against ruling military• CAIRO —Egypt’s Islamist and secular forces sought to relaunch the street uprising against Egypt’s ruling military Friday, packing Cairo’s Tahrir Square with tens of thousands of protesters in the biggest rally in months and accusing the generals of manipulating upcoming presidential elections to preserve their power.
But attempts by protest organizers to form a united front against the military were blocked by competing agendas. Liberals and leftists accuse the Muslim Brotherhood of abandoning the “revolution” months ago and allying with the military in hopes of securing power.
Yemeni troops attack al-Qaeda stronghold • SANA, yemen —Yemeni government troops seized control Friday of part of an al-Qaeda stronghold in the country’s lawless south after fierce fighting that has left at least 25 militants dead, a military official said.
After launching an attack overnight, the army pushed into the outskirts of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, while the rest of the city remained in the hands of al-Qaeda-linked militants, the official said.
Libyan government takes control of airport • TRIPOLI, libya — The Libyan government assumed control Friday of the country’s main international airport, taking over from militia fighters who had been providing security for months in the absence of an official force to do the job.
Denver Post wire services
