Syrian troops pound Homs, explosion rips through main Syrian oil pipeline in Homs

Syrian troops shelled neighborhoods in the restive city of Homs on Monday, a day after President Bashar Assad's government vowed to continue its deadly crackdown on the country's uprising, activists said.           

The bombardment comes two days after another attack on the central Syrian city that activists say killed 200 people, the highest death toll reported for a single day in the 11-month uprising.           

The Local Coordination Committees activist group said Monday's bombardment hit a makeshift hospital in the tense neighborhood of Baba Amr, causing casualties. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 12 people were killed in the intense shelling.              

Activists say they fear that the Saturday decision by Russia and China to block a U.N Security Council resolution on Syria will embolden Assad's regime. Some fear that Syria's turmoil will move into even a more dangerous new phase that could degenerate into outright civil war.           

On Sunday, the commander of rebel soldiers said force was now the only way to oust Assad, while the regime vowed to press its military crackdown to bring back stability to the country.   

An explosion ripped through an oil pipeline feeding a main refinery in the city of Homs on Monday and a plume of smoke was seen rising from the site, residents and activists said.
  
The explosion, the second in a week that hit the pipeline, which carries crude oil from the eastern Rumailan field, occurred in the district of Bab Amro, an opposition stronghold under heavy tank and mortar bombardment and rocket fire by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, they said.

On the other hand, Syrian army defectors announced on Monday the formation of a higher military council to "liberate" the country from President Bashar al-Assad's rule.   

The council, named "The Higher Revolutionary Council" and  designed to supersede the Free Syrian Army (FSA), said its head was General Mustafa Ahmed al-Sheikh, the highest ranking deserter who had fled to Turkey.

The council's spokesman is Major Maher al-Naimi, previously the FSA spokesman, according to a statement sent to Reuters.   

The announcement of the council's formation came hours after Assad's forces launched the heaviest bombardment to subdue the rebel city of Homs in the 11 month revolt.

AP