AID

Syria Blocks Red Cross Entry

As activists report executions by Syrian troops.

Syrian forces blocked a Red Cross convoy from entering Baba Amr, the besieged neighborhood in Homs, on Friday, despite having granted them approval to bring much-needed aid to the region 24 hours earlier. In a statement, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was "unacceptable" that aid was being denied and said convoys were staying put with the hope of entering "in the very near future." Meanwhile, activists said Syrian troops were searching houses and conducting execution-style killings. The rebel-run Free Syrian Army began withdrawal from Homs on Thursday, and the Syrian military had since declared the area "cleansed" of "foreign-backed armed groups of terrorists."