Troops battle opposition fighters in Homs

Sporadic shelling and clashes reported in Syrian city as Western powers call for UN Security Council action.

Syrian troops have reportedly clashed with opposition fighters in the city of Homs, as the army tried to enter the opposition stronghold of Bab Amr.

Activists said the fighting happened at the al-Bassel football field at the outskirts of Bab Amr, which is controlled by the armed opposition.

Sporadic shelling was also reported in the city on Wednesday morning.

Al Jazeera’s Rula Amin, reporting from neighbouring Lebanon, said sources close to the government said the army had almost cleared Bab Amr from fighters, but this claim was disputed by activists.

The latest reports of violence came as the international community continued to debate the Syria crisis. 

The Chinese foreign minister said his country would back international efforts to send humanitarian aid to Syria, after Western powers proposed a United Nations resolution authorising humanitarian aid.

“The pressing task now is for all sides to cease violence in the Syrian conflict, and to launch as soon as possible inclusive political dialogue and together deliberate on a reform plan,” Yang Jiechi told Nabil Elaraby, the head of the Arab League, in a phone call late on Tuesday.

“The international community should create conditions for this, and extend humanitarian aid to Syria,” Yang was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.

It was not clear whether Yang’s remarks meant China would consider the proposed new UN Security Council resolution.

China has been widely condemned for its handling of the Syria crisis. Elaraby has previously said Beijing lost diplomatic credit in the Arab world after it joined Russia in vetoing two previous Security Council resolutions.

The US has drafted an outline for a new resolution demanding access for humanitarian aid workers to besieged towns and an end to the violence there.

‘War criminal’

The UN estimates that more than 7,500 people have been killed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad;s forces since the start of the uprising in March last year.

“There are credible reports that the death toll now often exceeds 100 civilians a day, including many women and children,” said Lynn Pascoe, the UN’s under-secretary-general for political affairs.

Syria’s government said in December that “armed terrorist groups” had killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police. Scores of troops have since been reported killed.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that Assad fitted the definition of a war criminal for the violence he has unleashed on his people.

“I think that based on definitions of war criminal and crimes against humanity, there would be an argument to be made that he would fit into that category,” Clinton said in response to a question asked by a Republican senator in a hearing.

But Clinton cautioned that viewing Assad as a war crimes suspect could hinder efforts to find a resolution to the crisis in Syria by entrenching the current regime.

“I think people have been putting forth the argument, but I also think from long experience that could complicate a resolution of a difficult, complex situation because it limits options to persuade leaders perhaps to step down from power,” she said.

Meanwhile, the White House said al-Qaeda’s efforts to take advantage of the violence in Syria meant it was not the time to begin sending arms to opponents of Assad.

“Without getting into assessments of our intelligence capabilities, I would simply say that we are aware of the fact that al-Qaeda and other extremists are seeking to take advantage of the situation created by Assad’s brutal assault on the opposition,” Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said.

Carney said applying political pressure on Assad to leave office and to cease the military crackdown on dissidents was a better option than sending in weapons.

“Now is not the time to further militarise the situation in Syria,” Carney said.

‘Countless atrocities’

Syrian activists said scores were killed across Syria on Tuesday, most of them in the besieged city of Homs, where opposition strongholds have been under shelling for weeks.

Navi Pillay, the UN human rights chief, said during an emergency debate on Tuesday at the Human Rights Council that the world has to take action to prevent Syrian security forces from continuing their bombardments and other attacks against civilians, which she said had resulted in “countless atrocities”.

Pillay said the situation in Syria had deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks and called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

The appeal prompted a bitter response from Syria’s ambassador to the UN offices in Geneva, who accused the 47-nation council of promoting terrorism in his country.

Before storming out of the room, Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui, said the debate, which is due to continue on Thursday, would only prolong the crisis in Syria.

“We declare our withdrawal from this sterile discussion,” he said. “The call for holding the session is part of a pre-established plan. It is aimed at attacking the Syrian state and its institutions under the pretext of humanitarian needs.”