PhotoBlog: Syrians flee as tanks storm city

AP

Civilians flee fighting after Syrian army tanks entered the northwestern city of Idlib, Syria, on Feb. 14.

AP

Civilians flee fighting after Syrian army tanks entered the northwestern city of Idlib, Syria, on Feb. 14.

msnbc.com news services -- Syrian rebels have repelled a push by government tanks into a central town held by forces fighting President Bashar Assad's regime in an 11-month conflict that looks increasingly like a civil war.

The rebels have taken control of small swathes of territory in central Homs province, where Rastan is located, and the northwestern province of Idlib, which borders Turkey.

The military pressed its offensive Monday on Rastan, a day after the regime rejected Arab League calls for the U.N. to create a peacekeeping force in Syria and for an end to the violent crackdown on dissent. Damascus called the League initiative "a flagrant interference in (Syria's) internal affairs and an infringement upon national sovereignty."

AP

Syrian army tanks enter the northwestern city of Idlib, Syria, on Feb. 14.

AP

Civilians flee fighting after Syrian army tanks entered the northwestern city of Idlib, Syria, on Feb. 14.

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

The U.N. human rights chief, Navi Pillay, told the General Assembly on Monday that more than 5,400 people were killed last year alone, and the number of dead and injured continues to rise daily.

She said tens of thousands of people, including children, have been arrested, more than 18,000 reportedly are still arbitrarily detained and thousands more are reported missing.

In addition, 25,000 people are estimated to have sought refuge in neighboring countries and more than 70,000 are internally displaced.

"The breadth and patterns of attacks by military and security forces on civilians, and the widespread destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure indicate approval or complicity by authorities at the highest level," Pillay said.

Read the full story.

AP

Civilians flee fighting after Syrian army tanks enter the northwestern city of Idlib, Syria, on Feb. 14. Syrian government forces renewed their assault on the rebellious city of Homs in what activists described as the heaviest shelling in days, as the U.N. human rights chief raised fears of civil war.

There has been a fresh round of artillery fire in the Syrian city of Homs, according to opposition activists. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

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Source: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/14/10406541-syrians-flee-as-tanks-storm-city

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