Syria has followed up its 26 day seize and artillery bombardment of Homs, with an invasion of the city. Senator John McCain is calling for airstrikes to support the Syrian civilians being slaughtered.
The Al-Qaida War against Yemeni Forces has claimed 98 lives in recent fighting.
27 Iraqis were killed in gunbattles in the former Al-Qaeda stronghold of Haditha.
And the Iranian Supreme Islamist Court has overturned the death sentence of a US Marine visiting his grandmother in Iran. Amir Hekmati remains in an Iranian prison, awaiting a new trial.
In a meeting in Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reminded Obama that Israel retains the sovereign right of self-preservation, while Obama continues to call for dialogue with the rogue Islamist Nation.
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Sunday's fighting erupted in Abyan province when the militants detonated several car bombs and overran a military post near Zinjibar. Officials say a military hospital was overwhelmed with dead and wounded troops.
The officials say the militants seized armored vehicles, artillery pieces, assault rifles and rockets from the army base they attacked. Some of the heavy weapons were later used against the soldiers.
Al-Qaida militants seized control of Zinjibar last May while the government was pre-occupied with cracking down on nationwide opposition protests against the autocratic rule of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yemeni government forces have been trying to reclaim the town ever since.
Yemen has seen a surge in attacks blamed on al-Qaida since Mr. Saleh's deputy, Abed Rabo Mansour Hadi, took office as president last month. Hours after Mr. Hadi's February 25 inauguration, a suicide bombing killed 26 soldiers at a presidential palace in the the eastern province of Hadramawt.
Mr. Hadi has said that fighting al-Qaida and restoring security in the impoverished Arab nation are among his top priorities.
Syrian military forces hunted down opponents Monday in a brutal offensive against anti-government rebels following a 26-day siege in the central city of Homs. Civilians fleeing to nearby Lebanon said they feared being slaughtered in cold blood.
Activist Mulham al-Jundi accused government troops of keeping the Red Cross out of the wrecked Homs district of Baba Amr for a fourth day to hide their activities there. He said explosions could be heard in the area, indicating that houses and “important centers” were being destroyed.
Opposition figures say that after Syrian forces seized Baba Amr last week, they killed dozens of residents execution-style and burned homes in revenge attacks against those believed to be supporting the rebels.
The United Nations refugee agency said Monday that as many as 2,000 Syrians crossed into Lebanon over the last two days to flee the violence in their country. Refugees from the northern town of Qusair, in Idlib province, said government tanks shelled houses full of people. “Those who can flee, do,” one woman said. “Those who can't will die sitting down.”
Pro-Assad forces also bombed the rebellious city of Rastan, in Homs province, for a straight second day Monday. Activists say that town could be the government's next target.
In Washington, a powerful U.S. senator said the United States should lead an international effort to protect key population centers in Syria through air strikes on President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
Senator John McCain said the ultimate goal of air strikes “should be to establish and defend safe havens in Syria, especially in the north, in which opposition forces can organize and plan their political and military activities against Mr. Assad.” McCain, an influential Republican, has previously called for arming the Syrian opposition.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said aid workers in Syria reached two Homs neighborhoods near Baba Amr. ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan told VOA that a Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy arrived Monday in al-Tawzii and al-Inshaat, which is adjacent to Baba Amr. He said the convoy was carrying aid for thousands of civilians, including people who fled the government bombardment.
Aid workers have been trying to enter Baba Amr itself since Friday after receiving Syrian government approval to do so.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch estimates the government assault on Baba Amr killed about 700 people. Rights groups say the situation in the district is dire, with residents struggling to find food, water and medical supplies in freezing temperatures. Mr. Assad has been waging a deadly crackdown on a year-long uprising against his autocratic rule.
As international condemnation mounts, the Syrian government agreed to allow in two prominent international emissaries it had previously rebuffed – former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the new special envoy to Syria, and U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos.
Annan goes to Damascus Saturday and Amos said she will arrive in the capital on Wednesday. She said she will urge “all parties” to give aid workers “unhindered access” in delivering supplies to people affected by the violence and evacuating the wounded.
China is sending its own envoy to Syria this week to work on a political solution to the unrest, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he will meet his Arab League counterparts in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the crisis. Syria's main opposition groups have rejected dialogue with Mr. Assad and said his departure is the only way to end the revolt.
The United Nations estimates that violence linked to the uprising has killed at least 7,500 people since it began last March. Syria blames the unrest on “armed terrorist groups” backed by foreign conspirators. VoA.
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