Nearly 60 Syrian civilians and soldiers were killed in fighting over Syria’s future that coincided with a vote on a constitution that could keep Bashar al Assad in power until 2028.

PRIME Minister Adel Safar urged Syrians to vote in local elections to save the nation from “conspiracies against us”, but activists struggling to oust President Bashar-al Assad rejected the ballot as irrelevant at a time of violent unrest.

Syrian soldiers and tanks carrying out a nationwide crackdown on regime opponents are reported to have surrounded the city of Hama.

SYRIAN President Bashar al-Assad has appointed Adel Safar, who served as agriculture minister in the government which resigned last week, to form a new government, an official Syrian source said yesterday.