BEIRUT (Reuters) – Four Syrian soldiers were shot dead on Monday as they tried to escape a military camp and troops sealed off towns in a continuing crackdown on opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, activists said.

The military campaign has focused on towns and villages north of the city of Homs, where increasing numbers of defectors have been organizing and mounting guerrilla raids on roadblocks manned by troops and gunmen loyal to Assad.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria broadcast on Saturday what it said was the confession of a Jordanian-Palestinian man who gave Israel information leading to the assassination of Hezbollah military commander Imad Moughniyah in Damascus three years ago.

The man, who identified himself as 35-year-old Eyad Youssef Enaim, said he was recruited by Israel in 2006 after a visit to the West Bank town of Hebron. He said he was sent to Damascus by his Israeli handlers in February 2008 and gave them details of Moughniyah’s car hours before it was blown up on February 12.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – The head of a Syrian-based television channel which has become Muammar Gaddafi’s last platform for the outside world said he had a duty to broadcast the ousted Libyan leader’s comments and promised another video statement soon.

Former Iraqi MP Mishaan al-Jabouri said he remained in daily contact with either family or close associates of Gaddafi, who he said was in Libya and in good spirits, though he declined to say exactly where.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has watched Arab uprisings bring down the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia in a few short weeks and topple Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, but shows no sign of yielding to protests challenging his own iron rule.

As street demonstrations against Assad reach the six-month mark this week, Syria has plunged deeper into bloodshed, economic stagnation and international isolation than most countries swept up in the turmoil of the “Arab Spring”.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has watched Arab uprisings bring down the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia in a few short weeks and topple Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, but shows no sign of yielding to protests challenging his own iron rule.

As street demonstrations against Assad reach the six-month mark this week, Syria has plunged deeper into bloodshed, economic stagnation and international isolation than most countries swept up in the turmoil of the “Arab Spring.”

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said he had agreed a series of measures with President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday to help end violence in Syria, as activists said Assad’s forces killed six people in their relentless crackdown on dissent.

After talks in Damascus with Assad, Elaraby said he would present the proposed measures to Arab foreign ministers who are due to discuss Syria’s five-month uprising against the Syrian president and his military assault on protesters.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby met Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday to push for reforms and an end to bloodshed, but as they met activists said Assad’s forces had killed six people as they pressed on with a crackdown on dissent.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five people had been killed in the Bab Amro district of Homs during a sweep by the army and security forces on Saturday. A 45-year-old man was shot dead by security forces at a checkpoint in the northern province of Idlib, it added.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby met Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday to push for reforms and an end to bloodshed, but as they met activists said Assad’s forces had killed six people as they pressed on with a crackdown on dissent.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five people had been killed in the Bab Amro district of Homs during a sweep by the army and security forces on Saturday. A 45-year-old man was shot dead by security forces at a checkpoint in the northern province of Idlib, it added.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Oil sanctions which the European Union is expected to impose on Damascus for repressing protests would be a significant blow to Syria’s economy but it may take more than that to hasten the end of President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

Five months of protest and government reprisals have undoubtedly inflicted economic damage. Even before the likely EU embargo on Syrian crude exports, tourism, trade, manufacturing and foreign investment have all collapsed, reversing a decade of steady growth, starting to drain the country’s financial reserves and forcing many Syrians out of work.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Oil sanctions which the European Union is expected to impose on Damascus for repressing protests would be a significant blow to Syria’s economy but it may take more than that to hasten the end of President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

Five months of protest and government reprisals have undoubtedly inflicted economic damage. Even before the likely EU embargo on Syrian crude exports, tourism, trade, manufacturing and foreign investment have all collapsed, reversing a decade of steady growth, starting to drain the country’s financial reserves and forcing many Syrians out of work.