Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Protesters defy crackdown in Syria

Anti-government protesters continue to take to the streets across Syria, despite reports of deaths and arrests as the military cracks down on demonstrators.

Rallies were staged in several locations after night prayers on Tuesday, including in Homs, Albu Kamal near the Iraqi border, Binnish in the north and in some Damascus suburbs.

Syria's interior ministry said on Tuesday that security forces had completed its operation in the al-Ramel al-Janoubi neighbourhood of the coastal city of Latakia, which activists say has been subjected to a four-day assault that has left at least 36 people dead.

Brigadier General Mohammad Hassan al-Ali said residents of al-Ramel al-Janoubi, which houses a Palestinian refugee camp, "is recovering and the citizens are practicing their normal life that was spoiled by the acts of the terrorist groups," according to the report.

The Local Co-ordination Committees said that those killed in Latakia on Tuesday included a 13-year-old boy shot dead by a sniper. Al Jazeera is unable to confirm details because of restrictions on reporting in Syria.

Troops raided and destroyed houses in several neighbourhoods while gunfire could be heard, residents said.

"The heavy machine gun fire and bullets were intense in areas of Latakia, Ramel, Masbah al-Shaab and Ain Tamra for more than three hours," said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The group said soldiers raided the Sqanturi area and made dozens of arrests.

The UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees in Latakia said that thousands of refugees have fled their camp which reportedly came under fire after President Bashar al-Assad's forces began shelling the city.

A senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organisation condemned the violence used against Palestinian refugees.

The assault on Latakia has drawn sharp Arab and international condemnation.

"The regime's violence continues despite widespread condemnation by the international community. The calls for the violence to stop, including from Syria's neighbours, have not been heeded," British Foreign Minister William Hague said in a statement.

Western diplomats said the United Nations' top human rights body is likely to hold an urgent meeting next week to discuss the escalating crackdown in Syria, according to the report.

Diplomats from two of the Human Rights Council's 47 member countries said they have collected enough signatures to call for the special meeting as early as Monday.

Signatures so far include at least one Arab nation, AP said. Syria's key regional ally Iran warned on Tuesday that any Western intervention in the "internal affairs" of Damascus would stoke "public hatred" in the region.

Meanwhile, dozens of army vehicles were seen leaving the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor on Tuesday after a military operation that activists said has left 32 people dead since troops seized control of the city last Wednesday.

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