http://tinyurl.com/42tfvh8
April 25, 2011 As Syria Rolls Tanks Into Cities, 18 Killed 25 April 2011 VOA News At least 18 people are reported dead as Syrian troops and tanks rolled into the protest flashpoint town of Daraa on Monday, drawing international criticism. Witnesses and human rights activists in southern Syria reported the casualties as Syrian authorities widen their crackdown on a 5-week anti-government uprising. The witnesses said they saw bodies in a car that had been attacked by security forces in Daraa. Video footage distributed by human rights groups shows tanks in the city along with dozens of soldiers. Rights groups also reported gunfire from security forces in Douma, a suburb of the capital, Damascus. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay demanded that Syria curtail its military crackdown and investigate the killings of protesters. The U.S. condemned the violence against Syrian citizens, calling it "completely deplorable." A National Security Council spokesman says the U.S. is considering a range of responses to the brutal crackdown, including targeted sanctions, to make clear that Syria's behavior is "unacceptable." Also on Monday, Jordanian officials reported that the border between the two countries has been sealed and Syria is preventing people from crossing. Syrian officials denied the report. On Sunday, rights groups said security forces killed at least four civilians and detained many opposition activists in the coastal city of Jableh, following a pro-democracy protest against President Bashar al-Assad the previous night. Witnesses say the killings occurred even though no protests were in progress at the time. Sweeps against anti-government protesters have escalated in Syria despite last week's repeal of a nearly 50-year-old emergency law. The New York Times, quoting the executive director of the Syrian rights group Insan , said 217 people have disappeared since Friday. Funerals were held for those killed in the violence Friday and Saturday. Rights groups say at least 120 people were killed in the 2-day crackdown. President Assad signed a decree ending decades of emergency rule last week. The ruling was part of his effort to end anti-government unrest by meeting a key demand of protesters. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, discuss-os...@yahoogroups.com. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor biso...@intellnet.org http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: osint-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: osint-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: osint-dig...@yahoogroups.com osint-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: osint-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
