IDLIB, Syria, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Arab League observers gathered to monitor Syrian peace moves following an attack on civilians, anti-regime activists and defecting soldiers, rights groups said.
The observers arrived in Damascus Thursday, a day after an advance team arrived, to monitor the Assad regime compliance with pledges to withdraw troops from besieged areas and implement an Arab League peace agreement signed by Syrian officials.
The Syrian military used helicopters, tanks, artillery and machine guns against civilians and anti-regime forces Wednesday, rights groups said, while army loyalists stepped up the hunt for army deserters near the northwest city of Idlib near Turkey -- after loyalist troops Tuesday killed nearly 150 soldiers who tried to flee their base.
Many who managed to escape were later found in hideouts in nearby mountains, multiple sources told the British newspaper The Guardian.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated 100 deserters were besieged, then killed or wounded.
The dead were among hundreds of soldiers who tried to flee across the Turkish border to join the Free Syrian Army, a rebel force made up of fellow defectors, opposition forces said.
More than 100 civilians were killed Tuesday near the Idlib province village of Kfar Owaid, about 30 miles from Turkey, an anti-government activist told The New York Times.
The reported massacres detailed Wednesday followed a reported massacre Monday of 60 to 70 soldiers trying to escape an Idlib military base in mountainous region near Turkey.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called the killings an "organized massacre" just before the Arab League observers' arrival.
Amid the growing list of fatalities Syrian President Bashar Assad conducted military exercises including the test firing of missiles purchased from Russia.
It was the first time Syria showed the test firing of the P-800 supersonic Yakhont anti-ship missile it purchased last year, The Jerusalem Post said.
Despite protests from Israel to refrain from selling such missiles to Syria, Russia went ahead with the sale, Israel's Channel 10 said.
The White House said in a statement Wednesday it was "deeply disturbed" by the "credible reports" of the killings.
"While Syrian security forces have also taken casualties, the overwhelming majority of the violence and loss of life in Syria stems from the actions of the Assad regime, and we call on all parties to put an end to violence," the statement said.
Syria did not immediately respond to the accusations.
But the official Syrian Arab News Agency said Wednesday Syrian authorities had "stormed dens of armed terrorist groups" that had "attacked and sabotaged private and public properties."
Syrian officials deny security forces attack unarmed civilians. They blame the bloodshed on terrorist groups, incited and supported from abroad.
The Idlib clashes followed several weeks of Free Syrian Army actions against loyalist military patrols, as well as intense anti-regime protests.
Syrian troops began attacking villages Saturday that had been providing refuge and support to the insurgents, residents said.
