Clashes kill 18 in Syria

FRESH violence in Syria left 18 people dead yesterday, most of them killed in a battle between security forces and military defectors.

The fighting came a day after the United Nations’ human rights chief, Navi Pillay, called on the international community to protect Syrian civilians.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the pre-dawn clashes in Idlib killed seven soldiers and policemen, five army defectors and three civilians.

Security forces also killed a civilian in the southern province of Deraa and two more in the central region of Homs.

Until recently, most of the bloodshed in Syria was caused by security forces firing on mainly peaceful protesters, but there have been growing reports of army defectors and armed civilians fighting forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad.