Syrian Tanks Enter Coastal City, Shots Fired
Source: Agencies |
August 14, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
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SYRIAN tanks and armored vehicles swept into the coastal city of Latakia yesterday and gunfire was heard in a district where thousands had protested against President Bashar al-Assad, an activist group said.
The deployment took place a day after security forces shot dead 20 people during nationwide marches in which demonstrators called for Assad's overthrow and vowed to "kneel only to God."
Assad's military crackdown on the five-month protests, in which activists say over 1,700 civilians have been killed, has prompted new United States sanctions on Damascus and criticism from Arab states after months of regional silence.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said around 20 military vehicles were deployed yesterday near Ramle District of the Mediterranean city of Latakia, where 10,000 had demonstrated on Friday.
"Heavy gunfire could be heard from 10:30am until midday," the group's head Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that large numbers of people were fleeing the area.
The deployment took place a day after security forces shot dead 20 people during nationwide marches in which demonstrators called for Assad's overthrow and vowed to "kneel only to God."
Assad's military crackdown on the five-month protests, in which activists say over 1,700 civilians have been killed, has prompted new United States sanctions on Damascus and criticism from Arab states after months of regional silence.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said around 20 military vehicles were deployed yesterday near Ramle District of the Mediterranean city of Latakia, where 10,000 had demonstrated on Friday.
"Heavy gunfire could be heard from 10:30am until midday," the group's head Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that large numbers of people were fleeing the area.
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