Activists Claim Syrian Forces Killed 20 at Funeral - East Idaho News
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Activists Claim Syrian Forces Killed 20 at Funeral

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GETTY W 010612 Damascus?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1337161923009iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Government forces fired on a funeral procession in central Syria Tuesday, human rights activists charged, leaving 20 people dead.

What’s more, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights alleged that the “massacre” took place right in front of United Nations observers who are deployed in Syria to monitor the progress of the five-week-old ceasefire plan that appears to have done little to stave off 14 months of violence.

The U.N. monitors were also put in danger as a bomb reportedly exploded near their convoy following the shooting close to the city of Hama.

Later, Norwegian Gen. Robert Mood, who is in charge of the U.N. delegation, said that none of the monitors were harmed in the assault.

Mood also reported that 200 of the 300 monitors designated to verify the compliance of the ceasefire pact crafted by U.N. special emissary Kofi Annan were now in Syria.

Despite the scattered reports of violence, Mood said his observers were having a “calming effect” in parts of the country and that cooperation from both government forces and rebels was improving.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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