Syria tanks leave Homs before monitors arrive Tuesday, 27 December 2011 11:38

NICOSIA: The Syrian army pulled back heavy armour from the flashpoint central city of Homs early Tuesday ahead of the arrival of Arab League observers, a human rights watchdog said.

Eleven tanks pulled out of the Baba Amro neighbourhood of the city around 7:00 am (0500 GMT), Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

Homs has been one of the focal points of nine months of protests against the government of President Bahsar al-Assad and 34 people were killed in the city over the past 24 hours, the Observatory said.  (AFP)