Rebel stronghold shelled as Syria vote result looms

AP

A rebel aims his rifle from inside the classroom of a school in Homs, Syria, on Wednesday.

By msnbc.com news services

Syrian artillery pummeled rebel-held areas of Homs on Monday before an expected government announcement that a vote -- decried as a sham by the opposition and the West -- has approved a new constitution proposed by President Bashar Assad.

Shells and rockets crashed into Sunni Muslim districts of Homs that have already endured weeks of bombardment as Assad's forces try to stamp out an almost year-long revolt against his 11-year rule.

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"Intense shelling started on Khalidiya, Ashira, Bayada, Baba Amr and the old city at dawn," opposition activist Mohammed al-Homsi told Reuters from the city on the Damascus-Aleppo highway.

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"The army is firing from the main thoroughfares deep into alleyways and side streets," he said, adding that at least two peole had been killed.

Syria referendum goes ahead amid violence

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said later at least seven people had been killed by shelling in Baba Amr. The accounts of opposition activists were echoed by those from other observers, including the Red Cross.

As violence turns to war in Syria, the country votes on a referendum that would limit the government's powers. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

At least 59 civilians and soldiers were killed on Sunday in a violent backdrop to a referendum on a constitution that offers some reforms, but could enable Assad to keep power until 2028.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has said conditions in parts of Homs are worsening by the hour, has failed to secure a pause in the fighting to allow the wounded to be evacuated and desperately needed aid to be delivered.

"We are still in negotiations. Since the beginning, the objective has been to go in and evacuate people and bring in assistance. Every hour, every day makes a difference," ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said in Geneva.

New sanctions
European Union foreign ministers, meanwhile, agreed new sanctions against Assad's government on Monday, targeting its central bank and several cabinet ministers to try to curb funding for the government.

The measures, expected to be enforced this week, include prohibiting trade in gold and other precious metals with Syrian state institutions and a ban on cargo flights from Syria, officials said.

Syrian activist: 'You hear the sounds of torture all the time'

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the sanctions were crucial to putting pressure on Assad to end violence that has killed thousands of civilians over the last 11 months.

"I hope we will agree further sanctions today which will further restrict the access to finance in particular of the regime," Hague told reporters before the meeting.

Echoing comments by other ministers, Hague said any military involvement in Syria to lend support to anti-Assad rebels was off the table for now, even in the form of a peacekeeping force that some Arab states appear to favour.

"Of course for that to work properly there would have to be a peace to keep. At the moment we don't have that," he said.

Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said sanctions were the most the EU could do for now, saying it was the best that could be done without military intervention.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/27/10516807-bashar-assads-forces-bombard-homs-as-syria-awaits-vote-result

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