10 young men executed in Homs, Senior Syrian policeman defects

Several neighborhoods in Aleppo are being heavily shelled by pro-regime forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory pointed out on Sunday that clashes are still ongoing in Aleppo’s Salaheddine neighborhood.     


In the same context, the Syrian National Council and opposition activists accused the Syrian regime troops on Sunday of executing 10 young men in the Shammas neighborhood of Homs. The pro-regime forces reportedly stormed the neighborhood after long hours of shelling, gunfire and clashes.     


Arab foreign ministers meeting, postponed:    

The Arab League has postponed a meeting of Arab foreign ministers scheduled for Sunday to discuss the Syria crisis and to select a replacement for Kofi Annan, the United Nations-Arab League envoy, an Arab League official said.    

"They have postponed it," the official said in reference to the meeting that had been due to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The official did not give a new date for the meeting or any reason for the delay.


International positions:     

U.N. Chief Ban Ki Moon called Sunday for a “flexible U.N. presence” in Syria after the expiry of the observers’ mission, stressing that the international organization has a duty to help in the settlement of the Syrian crisis. 
 
For his part, President Francois Hollande said on Saturday France was pushing hard for a political end to the conflict in Syria, after the conservative opposition angered the government by calling for rapid foreign intervention.         

Hollande, breaking off his summer holiday to attend a ceremony for a soldier killed in Afghanistan, said France had deployed a medical team to Jordan to help with the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict in neighboring Syria.    


REUTERS/LBCI