Syria Army Hits Rebels in South as Red Cross Aids Refugees

Syrian troops clashed with army defectors in the southern Daraa region as the Red Cross handed out aid to refugees from Baba Amr in the center of the country, seized by the army last week.

At least two people died today in Daraa, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said by telephone from London. Tanks and military vehicles massed outside Yabroud, a Damascus suburb, he said. An explosion struck an oil pipeline, with opposition groups and the government blaming each other for the blast.