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Syrian TV Says Military Operation Begins In Restive Town

10.06.2011 15:30

Syrian state television says the country's military has launched an operation to "liberate" a restive northwestern town near the Turkish border.

The raid came after tanks and troops had converged on Jisr al-Shughur, where the government said more than 120 security personnel were killed earlier this week.

Damascus blamed the deaths on armed groups, but there are reports of a mutiny among security forces.

The military operations are part of a crackdown on a three-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, who has come under mounting international pressure over accusations of massacres of anti-government protesters.

Activists said security forces killed two people in the southern province of Darra on June 10 as they tried to disperse an antigovernment demonstration.

Three people were also reportedly killed in Damascus.

Clinton: Assad Can't Reverse Changes

On June 9. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to refrain from violence as the United Nations called on the Syrian regime to halt its "assault on its own people."

Clinton, speaking at the end of a meeting on Libya in Abu Dhabi, said Assad can't prevent the changes wanted by the people of Syria.

"We are working with our partners in the international community to bring an end to the violence and to support political and economic reforms. President Assad may try to delay the changes under way in Syria, but he cannot reverse them," Clinton said.

At the same meeting, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe accused Assad's regime of "massacring" its civilians who are seeking more freedom.

Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, meanwhile urged the Syrian regime to allow her fact-finding mission to investigate all allegations of rights violations.

She said her office has received reports that the number of people killed in a crackdown on protesters against President Bashar al-Assad's regime since March has exceeded 1,100, with up to 10,000 detained.

Pillay called on Syria's neighbors to keep their borders open for refugees fleeing Syria.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), meanwhile, appealed to Syria today for access to those wounded and detained in clashes with security forces.

ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger said in Geneva that "despite repeated requests to the Syrian authorities, we have not been granted meaningful access to those in need."

Thousands Flee To Turkey

Meanwhile, thousands of Syrians have fled into Turkey fearing a military assault, as the country braced for the prospect of more violent protests against Assad's rule on June 10.

Turkey's Red Crescent said it was setting up a second camp near the country's frontier with Syria to shelter people still crossing the border to escape the military build-up.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said 2,400 people had already crossed into Turkey. Fleeing residents said Syrian troops had massed outside Jisr al-Shughour, the scene of recent demonstrations.

On June 9, in a television interview, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had previously refrained from criticizing the Syrian regime, described the crackdown on protesters as "savagery" and said Assad was taking the situation "too lightly."

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/clinton_says_assad_cant_reverse_changes/24230189.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.