DOHA, Qatar -
Syrian troops backed by tanks and heavy armor
stormed the southern town of Deraa and the
Damascus suburb of Douma on Monday, resulting in
many deaths and dozens of arrests.
The
violence came amid growing international
condemnation at the mounting death toll, with more
than 100 protesters estimated to have been killed
on Good Friday alone.
Security forces
loyal to Bashar al-Assad, the country's president,
also continued a crackdown in the coastal town of
Jableh for a second day.
An activist said
late Monday that 18 people had been killed in
Deraa alone. However, the
government insists the army was invited in to rid
the town of gunmen.
Al-Jazeera's Rula
Amin, reporting from Damascus, said the troop
deployment was an "unprecedented" offensive
against the wave of dissent that has swept the
country since the uprising began on March 15. She
reported checkpoints and heavy security in central
Damascus.
Witnesses in Deraa told news
agencies that at least five people were killed
when assailants opened fire on a car.
The
vehicle was riddled with bullets, a witness told
Agence France-Presse. Intense gunfire could be
heard reverberating across the town, he said. "We
need international intervention. We need countries
to help us," a witness in Deraa told the
Associated Press by telephone.
"The
minarets of the mosques are appealing for help.
The security forces are entering houses. There is
a curfew and they fire on those who leave their
homes. They even shot at water tanks on roofs to
deprive people of water."
Al-Jazeera is
unable to confirm the reported deaths.
Syria closed all border crossings on its
southern frontier with Jordan as the military
launched its operation in Deraa, al-Jazeera has
learned from a security official.
'Bodies lying on streets' Thousands of soldiers swept into Deraa in the
early hours of Monday, with tanks taking up
positions in the town center and snipers deploying
on rooftops, witnesses said.
"Bodies are
lying in the streets and we can't recover them,"
one activist said, explaining that they have
little idea of the total number of casualties.
Footage aired by an opposition news
organization on Monday, transmitted via satellite,
appeared to show Syrian military firing at unseen
targets with sniper rifles. Al-Jazeera was unable
to verify the veracity of the footage.
"There are injured people. Scores have
been arrested. The security are repeating the same
pattern in all the centers of the democratic
uprising. They want to put down the revolution
using the utmost brutality," an unidentified
rights campaigner in Damascus told Reuters.
In Jableh, where several protesters were
gunned down on Sunday, witnesses said security
forces in camouflage uniforms - some with their
faces covered - and masked armed men dressed in
black were roaming the town's streets.
"Jableh is surrounded by security forces,"
the witness said, speaking by telephone. "The dead
are in the mosques and the houses. We can't get
them out."
The Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said on Monday morning that at least
13 people had been killed in Jableh since Sunday's
crackdown began.
The country has banned
nearly all foreign media and restricted access to
trouble spots since the uprising began, making it
nearly impossible to get independent assessments.
Hardening tactics Al-Jazeera's
Amin said that the events of Monday marked a
change in methods by security forces.
Up
until now, she said, security forces have cracked
down in reaction to protests. But the flood of
troops into Douma and Deraa had come in the
absence of any demonstrations.
"Today,
we're seeing a different tactic, with security
forces sweeping the towns," she said, noting
reports of house-to-house searches, arrests and
random shooting coming from both towns.
Communications have been cut off and, for
the first time, the military has become directly
involved in quelling the uprising, much to the
disappointment of opposition activists.
"They were hoping the army would not get
involved," our correspondent said. "They feel this
is only the beginning of a very serious
crackdown."
One activist told al-Jazeera
that some army officers had defected to fight
alongside the people of Deraa against the
government.
Two members stepped down from
the provincial council in Deraa. The resignations
came a day after two legislators and a religious
leader from Deraa broke with the government in
disgust over the killings.
Separately,
Syrian intellectuals expressed their outrage over
the violence, with a declaration on Monday signed
by 102 writers and exiles from all the country's
main sects.
"We condemn the violent,
oppressive practices of the Syrian regime against
the protesters and mourn the martyrs of the
uprising," they said.
Sanctions
weighed As Syria continued its violent
crackdown, a US official told Reuters the
administration was considering a range of options
against the Assad government, including possible
sanctions on senior officials.
The
measures could include a freeze on assets and a
ban on business dealings in the US, the official
said. There was no immediate word on when such
sanctions might be imposed. The State Department
ordered non-essential embassy officials to leave
Syria, as well as other US citizens.
Earlier, the United Nations' highest human
rights official called on Syria to rein in its
security forces and investigate nearly 100
killings of protesters reported over the weekend.
Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, denounced the escalation of violence
in the country and called for detained activists
and political prisoners to be released. She said
Syria has turned its back on international calls
to "stop killing its own people".
"The
first step now is to immediately halt the use of
violence, then to conduct a full and independent
investigation into the killings, including the
alleged killing of military and security officers,
and to bring the perpetrators to justice," Pillay
said in a statement.
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