Amateur video shows the Free Syrian Army exchanging gunfire with government forces as they take cover behind a rebel tank.
The Telegraph
3:37PM GMT 01 Feb 2012
Syrian rebels appeared defiant on the streets of Homs as they fired in the direction of what they said were government soldiers.
A camerman in the video footage can be heard saying the fighting was taking place close to the check-point of Rantees in Old Homs.
The video also shows Free Syrian Army members brandishing the former Syrian flag, a symbol of defiance against the government.
The violence in Homs comes as President Bashar al-Assad's army continues to drive back rebels trying to take control of parts of the capital Damascus as part of its crackdown on dissent.
The Free Syrian Army is believed to be made up of a loose network of local units comprising deserters from government ranks joined by armed volunteers. The rebel's footage cannot be verified due to reporting restrictions barring journalists from Syria.
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Syria: West hopeful Russia will not stand in way of UN deal to remove Bashar al-Assad
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, welcomed a suggestion from Russia that it was "possible and necessary" to reach "consensus" over the Syria crisis, following an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Foreign Secretary William Hague and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the United Nations Security Council meeting Photo: EPA
Nw York, Richard Spencer and Damien McElroy
6:00AM GMT 01 Feb 2012
Britain and other Western powers launched a diplomatic offensive to secure Russian agreement to a United Nations resolution demanding Bashar al-Assad stand aside as Syrian president within 15 days.
But Vitaly Churkin, the Russian Ambassador to the UN, told the Security Council he was encouraged that Russia’s concerns had been reflected in the latest draft, although he warned that Russia would not stand “for any sanctions or using the Council’s tool box to fuel conflict.”
Asked if this indicated a more conciliatory approach by Moscow, Mr Hague said: “I would like to see it that way”.
Earlier Moscow had warned that the resolution, drawn up by the Arab League, amounted to a "path to civil war".
Russia and China raised concerns that the resolution could be used to pave the way for military intervention, similar to the Nato-backed operation in Libya last year. During an emergency meeting of the council, Syria sought to exploit these fears by comparing the proposal to the resolution which was used as the legal basis for the Libyan mission. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, dismissed it as a "false analogy".
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Britain, the Arab League, the United States and France all insisted that military action was not the aim of the resolution, and that the Assad regime had to be stopped from spilling more blood. Mr Hague told the council: "This is not the West telling Syria what to do. While we meet, the gravest of crimes are being committed in Syria."
The Arab League warned that the crisis had the potential to upset the entire Middle East unless an immediate ceasefire was imposed, followed by a peaceful political process.
The draft resolution is the first to explicitly criticise the Assad regime since the start of the Syrian uprising last March.
Addressing the council on behalf of the League, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, said: "The bloodshed continues, the killing machine is still at work. We are not calling for any military intervention, we’re calling for economic pressure to show Syria it cannot ignore the demands of its people."
Syria rejected the resolution. Bashar Ja’afari, its UN representative, said: "Syria is going through decisive challenges in its history. We want this stage to be through the will of our people, not through the will of anyone else. Syrian patriotism rejects external intervention."
In a blow to the backers of the resolution, China insisted that the Syrian people could be trusted to find their own way out of the crisis, and said it would not back "regime change" or use of force.
According to a leaked early draft of the text, which will be voted on later this week, the resolution condemns the "continued widespread and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms", including the use of arbitrary executions, torture and sexual violence.
It also offers the UN’s full support for an Arab League peace plan that calls for Mr Assad to oversee the formation of a unity government, establish "transparent and free" elections and hand power to his deputy. The resolution threatens "further measures" if the Syrian regime fails to comply "within 15 days".
However, it does still face the threat of a Russian — and possibly a Chinese — veto if it is put to a vote on Thursday or Friday. Officials in New York said the resolution would put Arab League reconciliation efforts at its core, opening the way for "peaceful Syrian-led" transition.
They face a fierce battle to ensure Russia abstains from the vote instead of using its veto. David Cameron and other Western leaders have warned that the council cannot afford further inaction.
Mr Cameron told MPs that Britain was trying to "say to the Russians: ‘Really, if you go on vetoing or preventing these motions, you are going to be completely outside, not just world public opinion, but the very, very clear, expressed opinion of the Arab League’".
There has been a marked increase in violence over the past week, with almost 400 dead. Mr Assad on Tuesday visited wounded troops at Martyr Yousef al-Azmeh Hospital in Damascus, inquiring after their health and inspecting medical facilities.
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