Violent attacks in Syria kills 20 people

Violent attacks inside a Syrian city has left at least 20 people dead in the past 24 hours, the Associated Press reports. Machine-gun fire and explosions erupted in Homs, where activists have felt the crackdown from the government since the revolt started in mid-March.

This recent violence comes at the same time the Arab League was expected to hold an emergency meeting in Cairo to address the bloodshed in Syria. The Arab League wanted to ease the violence and was awaiting response from President Bashar Assad’s government to its proposal calling for the withdrawal of tanks and armored vehicles from the streets, Al Jazeera reports.

The violence started Tuesday night when gunmen attacked a bus carrying people returning from work and killed nine passengers, the Al Jazeera reports. According to activists, the gunmen stopped the bus and released the women passengers before killing the rest, the AP reports.

Syrian opposition’s two main activists groups said gunmen stormed a factory in the village Houla Wednesday, attacking workers and killing 11 people, the AP reports. According to the AP, a Homs activist said some of the men were decapitated and others shot in the head, with their hands tied behind their backs. Amateur videos posted online showed the men tied up and gagged.

As the attacks continued into Wednesday, residents in Homs remained inside their homes as they heard heavy machine-gun fire in the streets.