50 killed as prolonged Syrian army offensive sweeps Homs

Demonstrations against Assad's 'sectarian state' swept Syrian cities on Friday Around 50 people have been killed as clashes and demonstrations swept areas across Syria on Friday. The Syrian army stepped up a four-day offensive in Homs in an attempt to restore areas controlled by the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The city's Khalidiya neighbourhood suffered heavy bombardments from regime rockets and artillery. Aghannto and Basateen were also bombed as both sides clashes close to Dar Alkabira.
The FSA has meanwhile announced it has deployed a number of battalions to the frontline in Homs, in attempts to life a siege maintained by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) has also appealed to the United  Nations and the Arab League to immediately move to alleviate the suffering in the city.
British-based conflict watchdog, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), has reported the widespread use of government warplanes in bombardments in Homs and Damascus.
Meanwhile, negotiations are still ongoing to secure the release of 21 United Nations peacekeepers who were kidnapped in the Golan Heights on Wednesday.
Rebels, reportedly linked to the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigades, detained the observers in an attempt to force Syrian army forces to leave the area close to the Israeli-Syrian border.
SNC chairman, Moaz al-Khatib, has told CNN the soldiers were moved to a safe place and would be released soon.
Also on Friday, demonstrations protesting against what they call President Assad's "sectarian state" swept Aleppo, Hama, Deir Alzor as well as the Damascene countryside.
FSA activists have meanwhile released Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) documents allegedly obtained after taking Rayhan, which details planned assassinations on prominent political figures inside Lebanon.
Activists have promised to reveal "strong evidence" concerning relations between President Assad's regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon. They did not elaborate.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meanwhile told the BBC there was "no chance at all" his country would pressure President Assad to stand down, claiming Russia does not "play the game of regime change."
Lavrov is due to meet with British Foreign Secretary William Hague next week to discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria, after the international community made the unprecedented decision to assist Syrian opposition forces with "non-lethal" support.
Free National Assembly president Riad Hijab told a summit in Doha on Friday that the UN Security Council must "rapidly intervene" in the war-ravaged country, urging Western states to support the FSA in its fight against the Assad regime.