• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Syrian Forces Attack Southern Town, Damascus Suburb

25.04.2011 11:36

Rights activists and residents say Syrian security forces backed by tanks today stormed the southern town of Deraa.

Deraa is the town where protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime began last month.

A witness told Reuters he saw bodies in the street after hundreds of soldiers in armored vehicles and tanks poured into Deraa.

A resident told Al-Jazeera that tanks were shelling targets in the city.

Jordanian officials have confirmed that Syria today sealed off its border with Jordan. Deraa lies close to the border.

Activists and witnesses said Syrian security forces today stormed the Damascus suburb of Douma, shooting at civilians and arresting residents.

The reports could not be independently confirmed as most foreign correspondents have been expelled from Syria.

Rights groups say security forces have killed more than 350 civilians since the unrest in Syria began. A third of the victims were killed in the past three days.

The latest crackdown came despite the lifting of a nearly five-decades-old emergency law last week.

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/syria_protests_attacks_deraa/9504402.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.