Footage shows protesters beating gold statue of Hafez al-Assad with shoes in city of Raqqa near Turkish border
Syrian rebels on Monday
made a significant military gain when they seized
the northern city of Raqqa, tearing down a giant poster of the president, Bashar al-Assad, and
toppling a statue of his late father.
The rebels' advances in Raqqa came amid reports that unidentified gunmen on
Monday shot dead at least 40 Syrian soldiers, together with several Iraqis, in
Iraq's western Anbar province.
Dramatic
video footage shows cheering protesters ripping down the gold statue of
Hafez al-Assad in Raqqa's main square. In scenes reminiscent of the fall of
previous Arab dictators, the protesters beat the statue's head with their shoes,
shouting: "God is great." One man clobbers it with an axe.
The euphoria, however, is
brief. A second
video taken by activists soon afterwards captures a government mortar
landing in the square, followed by thick black smoke. Several dead and injured
lie on the ground. Rebels frantically load the wounded, including a woman, into
cars as a second mortar drops nearby....."
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