Two Syrian police gunned down in Homs

Two Syrian police officers have been gunned down in the central province of Homs as the unrest in the country continues. The officers were driving to work in a car when members of an armed group opened fire on them, the official Syrian news agency SANA quoted a local police official as saying on Saturday. Both of the policemen were instantly killed. On the same day, 11 people were killed in clashes across Syria. In addition, five army personnel who were killed by armed groups in Homs and the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus over the past two days were laid to rest on Saturday. Syria has been experiencing unrest ever since mid-March, with demonstrations being held both against and in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government. On October 7, Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad said around 1,100 members of the security forces and ordinary citizens had been killed by armed groups in the first seven months of the unrest, which began on March 15. The United Nations says 2,900 people, many of them members of the security forces, have been killed during the unrest. The Syrian government says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the killings. The Syrian government also says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country and the security forces have been given clear instructions not to harm civilians. In addition, Syrian state TV has broadcast reports showing seized weapons caches and confessions by terrorist elements describing how they obtained arms from foreign sources.