Turkey ups pressure on Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Turkey upped its pressure on Syria to end violence against civilians Tuesday, threatening to curtail electricity sales and demanding an apology.

Today's Zaman reported Ankara had shelved plans for a joint oil exploration effort between the Turkish oil company TPAO and Syria's state oil company, and is considering cutting agreements to supply electricity.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz made the threat after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan demanded an apology following an attack on Turkish missions in Syria following the Arab League's decision to suspend Syria for failing to put an end to violent suppression of anti-government protests.

Rights activists Tuesday charged more than 1,000 civilians have died in Homs, Syria, since uprisings began in mid-March. Nationwide, the United Nations has put the death toll at more than 3,500.

The Voice of America reported the poverty-stricken area around Homs is home to numerous army defectors and was a cauldron of unrest in the 1960s. Steven Heydemann of the U.S. Institute of Peace told VOA resentment against the Baath-led government has been simmering for decades.

"What we're seeing in some respects is the revival of an ethos of protest and resistance to the Baath government that anyone familiar with Homs would recognize from its past, but which is really taking very new forms and reflects very contemporary grievances," he said.

The government said its Homs crackdown is aimed at protecting minorities in the area. VOA said Homs is 40 percent Sunni, 30 percent Alawite and 30 percent Christian.

At least 50 people were killed Monday in clashes with Syrian security forces.

The Syrian local Coordination Committees opposing President Bashar Assad's rule said 51 people were killed Monday, including 21 people in Deraa and 13 in Homs, the BBC reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at more than 70, including at least 27 civilians, 34 soldiers and 12 suspected army deserters.

Meanwhile, the Arab League Monday said it plans to send a fact finding team to Syria to end the ongoing violence, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday. The 500 members of the team include military officials, Xinhua said.