Two children, aged around ten, were among those killed when tanks fired machine guns at villagers in the main street of Tal Dao in the Houla region, 22 km (14 miles) northwest of the Homs, the provincial capital, who had ignored a curfew announced by loudspeakers from tanks, they said.
“There was a strike in Tel Dao today and most shops were closed after two people were killed yesterday. But there were still people in the street. This is a rural region and people are not used to curfews,” said one of the activists, who gave his name as Abu Raed.
An Arab League deadline for Assad to pull the military out of urban centers, free political prisoners and start a dialogue under the 22-member group’s initiative to end the bloodshed in Syria expired at the weekend.
Assad said in an interview published on Sunday he would not bow to international pressure to stop the crackdown on the protests against his rule in which the United Nations says 3,500 people have been killed.
