Four killed in Syria, as West ups pressure for UN action

The four were killed Wednesday in the Jebel al-Zawiya region, where the army deployed two weeks ago to crush an anti-government revolt, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP by phone.

He said sustained gunfire was heard in the area, which lies in Idlib, a province near the northwestern border with Turkey.

An explosion, meanwhile, hit a pipeline in northeastern Syria in the first attack on the energy infrastructure since unprecedented protests against President Bashar al-Assad rule erupted in mid-March, state media and activists said.

And the Arab League of Human Rights head said security forces wielding batons dispersed 250 intellectuals and writers in Damascus's Midan district on Wednesday as they gathered, sang the national anthem and chanted "God, Syria, Freedom."

Four people were arrested, said Abdel Karim Rihawi.

France, which with other European governments has been circulating a draft resolution at the Security Council for months only to see it blocked by veto-wielding permanent members China and Russia, said it was vital the UN take action over President Bashar al-Assad's deadly crackdown on dissent.

"It is indecent because Bashar al-Assad has mobilised incredible resources to neutralise his opposition," said Defence Minister Gerard Longuet.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011