(Image source: Mar 15th)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR CHRISTY LEWIS

The Syrian government has warned protesters in Homs: stop the protests and strikes in 72 hours -- or else. Opposition leaders say the government of president Bashar Al Assad issued the warning, and armored vehicles have been slowly amassing outside the city.

Anti-government activists warn the city could become the site of a massacre. A CNN correspondent explains.

“Well, they have been expecting some kind of an ultimatum to come from the Syrian side for days. They’ve been talking about an immanent [attack] as they watch thousands of Syrian troops encircle the city of Homs, a city of about 1.6 million people … a city that has become a center of protests against the government.”

Activists report more than 50 people have been killed across the country by government forces since Friday prayers. The Assad regime insists their forces aren’t cracking down on protests, they’re fighting armed terrorists. But al Arabiya explains, Western governments aren’t buying the regime’s story.

“The United States, France and Britain have all warned Damascus against any bloody assault on Homs and said the regime would be held responsible for any heavy loss of life. … On Friday, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said: ‘It is extremely concerning … They are not going to be able to hide who’s responsible if there is a major assault on the weekend.”

Opposition leaders called for a strike this weekend that’s being widely observed across the country.

Videos posted to YouTube show closed shops and nearly-empty streets in business districts, and packed streets at protest sites. The protesters hope the strike will put an economic strain on the government. And the Telegraph reports they plan on expanding their efforts. (Video source: Ugarit News)

“In the wake of the general strike, activists are planning a campaign of civil disobedience to shut down universities, public transport, the civil service and major highways.”

Rights groups say the strike has been met with violence as pro-government forces tried to open shops by force. But Al Jazeera reports that in southern Syria the military was met by a strong opposition: the military.

“Hundreds of army defectors basically entered armed confrontation with Syrian troops in Busra al-Harir and Lujah and Daraa. We understand this happened after tens of tanks mounted with machine guns opened fire in that area earlier on Sunday morning to try to put an end to a general strike.”

U.S. intelligence officials warn Assad could order the use of chemical weapons if the violence escalates to civil war. Syria is known to have developed the weapons back in the ‘70s.