Middle East
Fresh violence hits Syrian town
Deraa hit by shelling and heavy gunfire, as funeral processions for scores of
people killed in protests get underway.
Last Modified: 30 Apr 2011 10:09
WARNING: Some of the images in this footage may not be suitable for all viewers
The south Syrian flashpoint town of Deraa has been hit by fresh shelling and
heavy gunfire, as residents bury people killed in Friday's "day of rage"
protests against the government, a witness tells Al Jazeera.
The army has been firing at protesters in neighbourhoods in Deraa's old town
and at least four houses in the Karak neighbourhood have been damaged by
shelling, according to the witness.
The shelling started at 03:00GMT on Saturday, the witness said.
"We are totally besieged. It is a tragedy. Many houses are levelled by shelling
from the army. For the past six days we haven't seen an ambulance," the witness
said via telephone, while gunfire rang out in the background.
"We are keeping the bodies of the dead in refrigerator trucks, but many bodies
are still lying in the streets. Many of the bodies are bloated and are reeking."
Tanks had been pounding the northern part of Deraa around the Omari Mosque
since morning, another witness told Al Jazeera via telephone, the sound of the
bombardment audible in the background.
The witness said he had seen 20 tanks enter the city on Saturday morning and
while there was no confirmation on casualties, many wounded were being treated
by residents in their homes.
A second witness confirmed that tanks as well as armoured personnel carriers
had entered Deraa this morning as well as helicopters flying soldiers into the
city.
"They are shooting at houses, both the tanks and the soldiers. The most intense
fire is at the Omari Mosque," he said, the sound of gunfire audible over the
phone line.
"The bullets are flying straight over my head as we are talking: It's so close.
The humanitarian situation is very bad: There's no food, no medicine, no
electricity. We are collecting rain water to drink," the second witness said.
Around 300 soldiers had defected and joined the protesters, he said, sharing
information on the army's movements and plans. Some of the defected soldiers
had shot at the army in an attempt to defend civilians but they were fast
running out of ammunition, he said.
"We have about 60 bodies now in refrigerated lorries. The army is looking for
them to bomb them to remove the proof of their crimes," he said.
Al Jazeera could not independently corroborate the witness accounts.
New protests planned
At least 62 people were killed in nationwide clashes on Friday when tens of
thousands of protesters took to the streets, activists said, while authorities
said nine members of the security forces were killed by "terrorist groups".
Pro-democracy protests were held against Bashar al-Assad's government in most
cities and major towns after Muslim weekly prayers, as on past Fridays for a
month.
The protesters pledged new countrywide demonstrations from Sunday at the start
of what they called "the week of breaking the siege".
Demonstrations would take place on Sunday in Deraa, which has been besieged by
security forces since Monday along with the Damascus suburb of Douma.
Activists also called for rallies on Monday in Damascus, Tuesday in the
northern towns of Baniyas and Jableh, Wednesday in Homs, Talbisseh and in Tall
Kalakh on the border with Lebanon, and night vigils on Thursday.
Friday's deadly Day of Rage protests gripped many Syrian cities and towns, the
London-based rights group, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP news
agency, with 33 people reported killed in Deraa alone.
The Committee of the Martyrs of the 15 March Revolution gave a slightly lower
overall death toll for Friday, saying 56 people were killed, including 33 in
Deraa and 25 in the central province of Homs.
The group said in a statement after the bloodshed that a total of 582 people
have been killed since protests erupted on March 15 by security forces firing
live rounds and tear gas.
The military said five soldiers were killed and two captured by "armed
terrorists" in the Deraa region of southern Syria, while three soldiers were
killed when gunmen tried to cut off the highway linking Homs to Hama.
A policeman in Deraa was also among the dead, the military said, adding that
dozens of assailants were killed and wounded and 156 arrested.
Assets blocked
As the violence raged, the US blocked the assets of Assad's brother, Maher
al-Assad, who commands Syria's feared Fourth Armoured Division. The US also
announced sanctions against several other senior officials and Syria's
intelligence services.
"The United States strongly condemns the Syrian government's continued use of
violence and intimidation against the Syrian people," the White House said in a
statement on Friday.
EU ambassadors in Brussels launched preparations for an embargo on the sale of
weapons and equipment that might be used for internal repression and decided to
put on the brakes on trade deals with Syria.
The 27-nation bloc will also "urgently consider further appropriate and
targeted measures with the aim of achieving an immediate change of policy by
the Syrian leadership", said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council endorsed a US call for an investigative
mission on the bloodshed as it voted in favour of a resolution condemning the
crackdown.
But Assad's government reiterated its running ban on demonstrations, despite
lifting a decades-old law barring them earlier this month, as the Muslim
Brotherhood accused it of "genocide".
Adnan Mahmud, the Syrian information minister, told AFP the crackdown would
continue, saying the "authorities are determined to restore security, stability
and peace to the citizens".
The interior ministry urged Syrians not to join the protests and warned that
unauthorised rallies would not be tolerated.
Friday's protests also rocked the coastal city of Baniyas, where about 10,000
turned out to shout "liberty, solidarity with Deraa" and "down with the
regime," activists said.
Some 15,000 people also protested in the majority Kurdish city of Qamishli and
neighbouring towns.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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