Syrian Protester Death Toll Rises as Army Assaults Towns

At least 14 anti-government demonstrators were killed and 100 people injured during an assault by Syrian security forces that began yesterday.

The protesters were killed as government forces backed by tanks, artillery and helicopters continued a crackdown on rallies that began in mid-March, attacking the towns of Talbiseh and Rastan near central Homs, said Mahmoud Merhi, head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights. Four soldiers were killed and 14 were wounded in Talbiseh, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said.