Syrian Forces Battle Deserters, One Killed

Syrian security forces shot dead at least one person early Monday as they launched a raid in the northwestern province of Idlib, where mutinous soldiers were fighting army troops, a rights group said.

The violence came as pro-democracy activists pushed a campaign of civil disobedience launched Sunday with a general strike across Syria designed to bring down the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Five people were also wounded in Idlib, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Army deserters were locked in heavy fighting since dawn with regular troops in two Idlib villages, it added.

Similar fighting was also raging Monday morning in the southern province of Daraa, cradle of nearly nine months of anti-regime dissent, it said.

The opposition Syrian National Council meanwhile said in a statement that the "dignity" general strike launched Sunday was widely observed in 12 provinces across Syria against "all expectations."

The SNC urged Syrian citizens from all walks of life as well as labor unions to pursue the strike, saying it was essential "for the success of the revolution and the establishment of a civilian democratic nation."

The general strike is part of a campaign of civil disobedience called by activists who have announced plans to shut down universities, public transport, the civil service and major highways.

Rights groups had earlier reported that at least 13 civilians were killed on Sunday by regime forces, five of them in the flashpoint central province of Homs as fears grew of an "invasion" of the besieged protest hub.

U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, who has said more than 4,000 people have been killed in the government crackdown on dissent, is to brief the U.N. Security Council on Syria later Monday.