Syrian forces kill 150 people in Idlib, US dismisses Syrian demand

Syrian army bombardment has killed at least 115 people in the northern province of Idlib in the last two days, and troops also rounded up and shot 35 men during military operations in the region, two opposition activists said on Monday.    

They said the killings occurred in al-Rouge, villages and farmland southwest of the provincial capital Idlib where forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have been trying to retake swaths of land that fell to rebels from the Free Syrian Army. The activists reports, like others from inside Syria, could not be independently verified because Syria restricts access for foreign reporters.    

"We have been collecting and identifying the bodies since yesterday," Mahmoud Ali, one of the activists, said from the region, using a Turkish mobile phone because the Syrian lines were cut.    

"The 35 were young men between 18 and 26 years old. They were rounded up at a school when the army overran al-Bashiriya (village) and were shot in the head and the chest," he added.    

Ali said he had seen the bodies of the 35 men he said were shot dead, as well as the bodies of 32 other people at two mosques in the area who were killed in what he said was shelling by the army and rocket fire from helicopters.    

Mohammad Abdallah, another activist based on the Syrian-Turkish border said separate sources have confirmed the killings, adding that the military assault in Idlib has been intensifying ahead of an April 12 international deadline for a ceasefire.    

Syrian authorities say they are fighting "armed terrorists" who have killed 2,500 soldiers and police since the uprising against Assad erupted in March last year.  

On a different note, the United States dismissed Syrian demands for written guarantees that rebels would lay down arms as a stalling tactic.    

Syria was to have started pulling troops out of towns and cities by Tuesday, paving the way for a ceasefire. President Bashar al-Assad over the weekend demanded written guarantees from his foes that they would stop fighting and lay down arms.    

"This is just another way to stall for time," Victoria Nuland, U.S. State Department spokeswoman told reporters.    

Reuters