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Heavy fighting reported in Syrian city of Homs

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REPORTING FROM BEIRUT -- Heavy fighting was reported Tuesday in Syria as security forces mounted an offensive in the city of Homs, where activists said seven people were killed.

The government said “armed terrorist gangs” had assaulted a police station, a hospital and a roadway, and tried to assassinate the head of the hospital’s emergency room. Authorities confiscated heavy weapons and explosives and arrested more than 100 “wanted men,” said the official Syrian Arab News Agency.

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The city of more than 1 million in west-central Syria has been a hub of the opposition to the rule of President Bashar Assad since anti-regime protests broke out across the country in March. But anti-regime activists say attacks by government security forces in Homs and surrounding communities have escalated in recent days.

The Local Coordinating Committees, a grass-roots group seeking Assad’s ouster, accused the government in a statement of “targeting anything that moves in the streets,” describing “continuous shooting,” outages of electricity and water, and plainclothes security units “roaming the residential neighborhoods.”

Activists have blamed Syrian security forces for attacking peaceful demonstrators, prompting some civilians and army defectors to take up arms. The official news agency blames “terrorist” gunmen for the apparently escalating violence.

The Syrian government has barred most journalists from entering the country, making it difficult to obtain independent verification of reports of casualties and damage.

Almost 3,000 people have died in violence in Syria since March, according to the United Nations. The Syrian government says more than 1,000 security personnel have been killed.

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-- Patrick J. McDonnell

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