'Many Tortured, Massacred' in Fresh Homs Attacks

An undated handout photograph made available by the Local Coordination Committes (LCC) in Syria on 22 February 2012, shows smoke raising in Baba Amr Neighborhood, in Homs, Syria. Photo by BGNES

As many as 47 people, mainly women and children, have been massacred in an appalling attack by pro-government militia in the embattled Syrian city of Homs, BBC reported, citing activists.

Women and children are said to among those who were reportedly tortured and killed on Sunday night in the neighborhood of Karm el-Zaytoun.

The Syrian government acknowledged the deaths, but blamed "armed terrorists".

The attack happened hours after UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan ended his two-day mission to Damascus.

Both the opposition Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) and the Local Coordination Committees (LCC) put the toll at 45.

The SRGC said that some of the victims had been burned alive with heating fuel poured over them and others had their necks and limbs broken.

Homs has been under assault for weeks as government forces have tried to root out rebel fighters. Parts of the city have been completely wiped out.

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