http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/201261222721181345.html
Kieran Dwyer, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping department, told Al Jazeera that Landous' description was "related to what is going on in the last five days."
"What we've seen in the last five days is a huge upscaling of the military confrontation," he said. "[It's by] both sides, at a huge cost to the civilian population."
Earlier, angry crowds hurling stones stopped UN observers on Tuesday from reaching Haffa, the besieged coastal town where it is feared a massacre is under way.
UN observers were also in Homs, in western Syria, where heavy shelling continued. Observers filmed helicopters over an area where smoke was seen.
The UN says its monitors saw fire coming from the helicopters although it was unable to distinguish whether machine guns were being used.
Trapped in homes
Activists reported heavy shelling in several districts in Homs. Residents of the Khalidiya neighbourhood told Al Jazeera that they had been trapped in their homes for the last three days without electricity or water.
Other neighbourhoods were reportedly targeted as well, and videos from the city, long a rebel stronghold, showed explosions in built-up areas.
Abo al-Barra, a doctor in Homs, told Al Jazeera that there were wounded civilians in need of evacuation. "They are severely injured," he said.
The Associated Press news agency, meanwhile, reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Deir Az Zor, where activists said at least 10 people were killed by artillery fire from the Syrian army.
Amateur video of the attack showed dead people in a street as survivors screamed in panic and tried to remove their bodies.
The violence comes as President Bashar al-Assad's government faces mounting international pressure over brutal tactics against the opposition, with the UN reporting witnesses describing the use of children as human shields.
Kieran Dwyer, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping department, told Al Jazeera that Landous' description was "related to what is going on in the last five days."
"What we've seen in the last five days is a huge upscaling of the military confrontation," he said. "[It's by] both sides, at a huge cost to the civilian population."
Earlier, angry crowds hurling stones stopped UN observers on Tuesday from reaching Haffa, the besieged coastal town where it is feared a massacre is under way.
UN observers were also in Homs, in western Syria, where heavy shelling continued. Observers filmed helicopters over an area where smoke was seen.
The UN says its monitors saw fire coming from the helicopters although it was unable to distinguish whether machine guns were being used.
Trapped in homes
Activists reported heavy shelling in several districts in Homs. Residents of the Khalidiya neighbourhood told Al Jazeera that they had been trapped in their homes for the last three days without electricity or water.
Other neighbourhoods were reportedly targeted as well, and videos from the city, long a rebel stronghold, showed explosions in built-up areas.
Abo al-Barra, a doctor in Homs, told Al Jazeera that there were wounded civilians in need of evacuation. "They are severely injured," he said.
The UN mission in Syria posted this video, shot in and around Homs, which shows the aftermath of some shelling [UNSMIS]
"The women are badly injured, there are serious injuries."The Associated Press news agency, meanwhile, reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Deir Az Zor, where activists said at least 10 people were killed by artillery fire from the Syrian army.
Amateur video of the attack showed dead people in a street as survivors screamed in panic and tried to remove their bodies.
The violence comes as President Bashar al-Assad's government faces mounting international pressure over brutal tactics against the opposition, with the UN reporting witnesses describing the use of children as human shields.
| The UN report released on Monday also said children had been victims of detention, torture and sexual violence. "The secretary-general expresses his deep concern at the dangerous intensification of armed violence across Syria over the past several days, and the grave danger facing civilians in areas under fire," Ban Ki-moon's office said in a statement. "The bloodshed and fighting must stop at once." Ban's criticism is based partly on reporting from the UN observer team on the ground in Syria, which also reported "planned and co-ordinated attacks [by rebels] on government forces and civilian infrastructure in multiple locations." 'Angry crowds' in Haffa But the observers have been unable to reach certain parts of the country, including Haffa. The mission said it was barred from entering Haffa by "angry crowds" who threw rocks and metal rods at their vehicles.
"They were at the last checkpoint and the government said, 'you can go through,' but we deemed it unsafe." Fighters in the town said on Tuesday that hundreds of rebels were fighting a tank- and helicopter-backed assault on their district, which is tucked among rugged mountains. Clashes started a week ago between rebels and security forces who were setting up checkpoints to tighten their grip on the strategic town, which lies close to the port city of Latakia as well as the Turkish border. It has allegedly been used by rebels to smuggle people and supplies. Most accounts of violence cannot be independently verified, as Syria restricts access for journalists. | |
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