Syrian endures another day of unrest

Published January 28, 2012 |

(CNN) — Violence engulfed Syria a day after bloody unrest swept the country, opposition activists said on Saturday.

The Local Coordination Committees of Syria said a child was killed, security forces shot and shelled targets, and an oil pipeline exploded in Deir Ezzor province.

Security forces killed a man in the Homs province town of Hawleh, and explosions and shooting rang out in the Homs’ city neighborhood of Baba Amr, the LCC said.

An activist died after an ambush by regime forces in the Daraa province town of Al-Gharia Al-Sharqiya, the activists said.

In the Damascus suburbs, security forces killed a man at a checkpoint of Harasta when they shot at his car. Also in those suburbs, corpses were discovered at a farm and clashes occurred between soldiers and the Free Syrian Army, the resistance force comprised of military defectors.

In Aleppo city, security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas grenades to disperse mourners who gathered for a funeral.

On Friday, at least 60 people died amid countrywide mass demonstrations across Syria. Activist stage nationwide protests every Friday, and the LCC said people turned out for 588 demonstrations.

The United Nations last month estimated that more than 5,000 people have died since March, when the government launched a crackdown against peaceful demonstrators. But activist groups estimate a higher death toll, with counts near or exceeding 7,000 people.

Diplomats at the U.N. Security Council are considering a draft resolution that calls on President Bashar al-Assad to step down and transfer power to his vice president.

The council on Friday discussed the measure, introduced by Morocco.

It also supports “full implementation” of the Arab League report that called on Syria to form a unity government within two months but stopped short of supporting military intervention. The Arab League report was released about a month after it sent observers into Syria.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Araby and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, are expected to brief the council Tuesday about the observer mission’s findings.

When asked whether that briefing would lead to a vote next week, France’s U.N. envoy, Gerard Araud, responded with just one word: “Inshallah,” or “God willing” in Arabic.

There will be a Monday meeting of experts from the missions of the 15 countries on the Security Council.

Syrian ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja’afari was dismissive of the draft. “Syria will not be Libya; Syria will not be Iraq; Syria will not be Somalia; Syria will not be a failing state,” he told reporters.

The 22-member Arab League has called on al-Assad’s regime to stop violence against civilians, free political detainees, remove tanks and weapons from cities and allow outsiders — including the international news media — to travel freely in Syria. On Wednesday, Syria‘s government agreed to a one-month extension of the League’s observer mission, which monitors government activities in various hotspots.

CNN’s Salma Abdelaziz and Joe Sterling contributed to this report