Syria unrest: Local election held despite fighting

Syria is holding local elections despite continuing violence between security forces and protesters.

The authorities said the vote would be freer than in previous years, but the opposition has called for a boycott.

Turnout is expected to be very low. Correspondents say many Syrian voters will not risk going to the polls amid escalating violence.

Sunday saw further bloodshed in several cities. Syria has refused to allow international election monitors.

The UN estimates more than 4,000 people have died in the nine-month uprising, including 307 children.

The Syrian government says it is fighting armed groups. Many army defectors have joined the opposition in recent months.

War zone

About 43,000 candidates are competing for more than 17,000 seats in local councils across the country on Monday.

The interior ministry distributed invisible ink to prevent fraud and ensure the honesty of elections, the state-run Sana news agency said.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in neighbouring Turkey says the vote will mean little in much of the country, where people will not vote - either because they support the opposition's call for a boycott or because going out to vote is too dangerous.

Our correspondent says Homs - Syria's third-largest city - resembles a war zone, with gun-battles occurring every day between army units and lightly armed opposition forces.

A Homs resident told the Arabic news channel al-Jazeera: "I didn't even know an election was taking place. The people of Homs have removed every picture of [President] Bashar al-Assad from the streets, so don't expect to see pictures of candidates who are no more than stooges of the regime."

Eleven of the deaths on Sunday were in Homs and Hama, the anti-government Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC) said.

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) has warned of an impending final assault on Homs by security forces.

Foreign pressure

On Sunday the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two people had died in clashes between troops and deserters in the northern Idlib province.

There was also a battle in the southern town of Busra al-Harir, with several armoured vehicles reported destroyed.

Syria severely restricts access to foreign media so reports of unrest cannot be verified.

President Assad is under international pressure to end the continuing crackdown on anti-government protesters.

The Arab League is due to meet on Saturday to discuss Damascus's response to the league's plan to send in monitors.

Last month the league suspended Syria's membership in protest at the continuing crackdown and also imposed economic sanctions.