15 civilians killed in Syria

BEIRUT: At least 15 civilians were killed Wednesday in violence across Syria, including eight in the rebel-held city of Homs, which has been relentlessly bombarded by Syrian forces since February 4, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Eight members of the Syrian forces also died on Wednesday in clashes with rebel fighters and attacks in the Aleppo region in the north and Daraa in the south, the Britain-based monitoring group said.

UN political chief B Lynn Pascoe told the Security Council this week that "well over 7,500" people have been killed in Syria since protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted in March last year. (AFP)