Reports of shooting and heavy armour as Syrian soldiers join unprecedented crackdown against anti-government protests.
Al-Jazeera
COMMENT:
This turn of events confirms that the stupid Rabbit is following in the footsteps of Gaddafi. Expect the worst for Syria. The next move will be to impose sanctions, get Security Council authorization to stop the military crackdown and ultimately NATO bombing of Syrian armor. This is the legacy of all Arab dictators.
"More deaths have been reported in Syria where thousands of troops backed by heavy armour have swept into the volatile town of Deraa in the south of the country and the large Damascus suburb of Douma.
Security forces also continued a crackdown in the coastal town of Jableh for a second day.
Witnesses in Deraa told news agencies on Monday that at least five people had been killed when gunmen opened fire on a car.
The vehicle was riddled with bullets, a witness told AFP. Intense gunfire could be heard reverberating across the town, he added.
"The minarets of the mosques are appealing for help. The security forces are entering houses. There is a curfew and they fire on those who leave their homes. They even shot at water tanks on roofs to deprive people of water," he said.....
Hardening tactics
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Damascus, said that the events on Monday marked a change in methods by security forces.
Up until now, she said, security forces have cracked down in reaction to protests. But the flood of troops into Douma and Deraa had come in the absence of any demonstrations.
"Today, we're seeing a different tactic with security forces sweeping the towns," she said, noting reports of house-to-house searches, arrests and random shooting coming from both towns.
Communications were cut off and, for the first time, the military has become directly involved in quelling the uprising, much to the disappointment of opposition activists.
"They were hoping the army would not get involved," Amin reported. "They feel this is only the beginning of a very serious crackdown."
Yet one activist told Al Jazeera the some army officers have defected to fight with the people of Deraa against the regime....
'Barrier of fear'
Meanwhile, Syrian intellectuals expressed their outrage over the violence, with a declaration on Monday signed by 102 writers and exiles from all the country’s main sects.
The declaration called on Syrian intellectuals "who have not broken the barrier of fear to make a clear stand.
"We condemn the violent, oppressive practices of the Syrian regime against the protesters and mourn the martyrs of the uprising."
Signatories included Alawite figures such as former political prisoner Loay Hussein; female writers Samar Yazbek and Hala Mohammad; Souad Jarrous, correspondent for the pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat; writer and former political prisoner Yassin al-Haj Saleh and filmmaker Mohammad Ali al-Attassi.
Mansour al-Ali, a prominent Alawite figure from the city of Homs, was arrested in his home city after he spoke out against the shooting of protesters, another activist in Homs said....."
Al-Jazeera
COMMENT:
This turn of events confirms that the stupid Rabbit is following in the footsteps of Gaddafi. Expect the worst for Syria. The next move will be to impose sanctions, get Security Council authorization to stop the military crackdown and ultimately NATO bombing of Syrian armor. This is the legacy of all Arab dictators.
"More deaths have been reported in Syria where thousands of troops backed by heavy armour have swept into the volatile town of Deraa in the south of the country and the large Damascus suburb of Douma.
Security forces also continued a crackdown in the coastal town of Jableh for a second day.
Witnesses in Deraa told news agencies on Monday that at least five people had been killed when gunmen opened fire on a car.
The vehicle was riddled with bullets, a witness told AFP. Intense gunfire could be heard reverberating across the town, he added.
"The minarets of the mosques are appealing for help. The security forces are entering houses. There is a curfew and they fire on those who leave their homes. They even shot at water tanks on roofs to deprive people of water," he said.....
Hardening tactics
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Damascus, said that the events on Monday marked a change in methods by security forces.
Up until now, she said, security forces have cracked down in reaction to protests. But the flood of troops into Douma and Deraa had come in the absence of any demonstrations.
"Today, we're seeing a different tactic with security forces sweeping the towns," she said, noting reports of house-to-house searches, arrests and random shooting coming from both towns.
Communications were cut off and, for the first time, the military has become directly involved in quelling the uprising, much to the disappointment of opposition activists.
"They were hoping the army would not get involved," Amin reported. "They feel this is only the beginning of a very serious crackdown."
Yet one activist told Al Jazeera the some army officers have defected to fight with the people of Deraa against the regime....
'Barrier of fear'
Meanwhile, Syrian intellectuals expressed their outrage over the violence, with a declaration on Monday signed by 102 writers and exiles from all the country’s main sects.
The declaration called on Syrian intellectuals "who have not broken the barrier of fear to make a clear stand.
"We condemn the violent, oppressive practices of the Syrian regime against the protesters and mourn the martyrs of the uprising."
Signatories included Alawite figures such as former political prisoner Loay Hussein; female writers Samar Yazbek and Hala Mohammad; Souad Jarrous, correspondent for the pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat; writer and former political prisoner Yassin al-Haj Saleh and filmmaker Mohammad Ali al-Attassi.
Mansour al-Ali, a prominent Alawite figure from the city of Homs, was arrested in his home city after he spoke out against the shooting of protesters, another activist in Homs said....."
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