100,000 trapped in Homs amid heavy shelling - activistFebruary 14, 2012 - 18:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - More than 100,000 civilians were trapped inside the restive area of Baba Amr, in the central Syrian province of Homs, due to heavy shelling that had killed 24 on Tuesday, February 14 an activist said. “The shelling is so intense. People are trapped and they do not have the right shelters,” Omar Homsi told DPA by satellite phone. “They are shelling any car that tries to leave the area,” he said, according to M&C. More than 6,000 people have been killed since President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a crackdown on protesters calling for democracy in March, according to monitoring groups. The United Nations put the figure at more than 5,400 in late December, before it gave up counting the toll, citing difficulties on the ground. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. |