Syrian army defectors battle in the south
Hundreds of army defectors have reportedly battled President Assad’s forces in southern Syria in one of the biggest armed confrontations yet, after the deaths of 26 people on Sunday.
Defectors from the 12th Armoured Brigade, based in Isra, 40km from the border with Jordan, reportedly stormed the nearby town of Busra al-Harir and attacked military supply lines on Sunday.
The clash is believed to have begun after tanks mounted with machine guns opened fire to try and put an end to a general strike in the area.
Opposition activists said they had closed down much of the capital and other towns with a strike, the biggest walkout by workers since unrest began in March.
At least 26 people were killed by government troops on Sunday, including a woman and four children, activists said. Nine of them were killed in the city of Homs, six in Hama, three in Deraa, two in Idlib and another two outside of Damascus.
At least five Syrian soldiers, including a military officer, were also reportedly killed.
The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) has warned of an impending final assault on Homs by security forces.
The violence came as Syrians prepared to vote in local elections on Monday, but turnout is expected to be low as activists have called for a boycott of the polls.
About 43,000 candidates are competing for more than 17,000 seats in local councils across the country on Monday.
The interior ministry distributed invisible ink to prevent fraud and ensure the honesty of elections, the state-run Sana news agency said.
The United Nations says at least 4,000 people have been killed in Syria since March. The government says over 1,000 from its security services have been killed.