Syrian forces storm village, kill 3 defectors

Syria, accused by France of "crimes against humanity," yesterday sent its security forces storming into a northwestern village where they killed three military defectors, rights activists said.
The head of the Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, later told AFP the killings occurred during a raid on the house in Ibleen of a brother of one of defectors, Hussein Harmouche.
Two other deserters were arrested, Abdel Rahman said, reached by telephone from Nicosia.
Harmouche, an officer, announced his defection in a June video widely distributed on the Internet and broadcast on Arab satellite channels, giving as the reason his refusal "to fire on unarmed civilians."