Renewed clashes in Syria leave many dead

At least 20 people have been killed in renewed clashes across Syria, as the European Union decided on a new set of sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad's government. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that 10 civilians were killed in the town of Banash in the northern province of Idlib when soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad stormed the town of Binish and fought battles with gunmen and army deserters. "The Syrian army backed by tanks and armoured troop carriers launched an assault this morning on the town of Banash and clashes took place with armed men who were apparently dissidents," the rights group said. The group said that the army also launched an attack on Taum village, in the province's east. "Several houses were partly destroyed and people were wounded... while the noise of heavy machineguns and explosions could be heard in several parts of the town and ambulances seen racing through the streets." In the southern province of Deraa, where the six-month wave of protests against Assad first erupted, the group said that six soldiers and two army deserters were killed in a clash in the town of Haara, alongside one civilian. Another soldier was killed in the central city of Homs. Continue reading...