At least 20 killed by Syrian troops in Daraa

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At least 20 people were reported killed when hundreds of Syrian troops backed by tanks entered the southern Syrian city of Daraa early Monday.

Syrian anti-government protesters seen carrying a banner in Arabic that reads:" Daraa is our torch, Douma is our model, Jabla is our support, Latakia is our pride, Homs is our victory, in Qamishli our brothers and what about Qardaha ??!," knowing that Qardaha is the home village of Syrian President Bashar Assad, as they gather in the coastal city of Banias, Syria on Friday.

Tanks fired at houses and people, and dozens of bodies were seen on the streets, activists said on the internet.

They added that security forces backed by armoured vehicles had entered the town overnight in an apparent crackdown against the ongoing anti-government protests in Daraa which began on March 15.

There was no way to obtain independent confirmation of the casualty figures. Syrian authorities have banned international and Arab journalists from entering Syria, with the government blaming the unrest on what it calls conspirators.

Telephone lines and electricity were reportedly cut off from Daraa, but some using Jordanian mobile phones could be reached.

“I can tell you 3,000 troops entered the city and they are currently raiding homes in Daraa,” a Syrian taxi driver who lives in Daraa told the DPA by phone.

“There are many casualties and ambulances are unable to move due to the heavy shooting,” he said.

“These are the forces of Maher al-Assad (brother of Syrian president Bashar al Assad). They are shooting at anything that moves,” he added.

Meanwhile, Syrian writers issued on Monday a declaration denouncing the crackdown.

The declaration was signed by 102 writers and journalists, both in Syria and in exile, representing all the country’s main sects.

It called on Syrian intellectuals “who have not broken the barrier of fear to make a clear stance and condemn the violent, oppressive practices of the Syrian regime against the protesters.” Human rights groups said security forces have killed around 400 people since the unrest began last month. But the highest numbers were killed in the past three days.

On Sunday, at least nine people were killed in coastal city of Jableh when security forces fired live ammunition to disperse mourners attending the funerals of some of those who died in an earlier government crackdown on protesters.

Human Rights Watch called on the United Nations Sunday to set up an international inquiry into the fatal shootings by Syria’s security forces of peaceful protesters and impose sanctions on officials who bear responsibility for the use of lethal force.

“After Friday’s carnage, it is no longer enough to condemn the violence,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

At least 112 people were killed in Friday’s violent crackdown on protesters by the security forces in various towns across Syria.

“Faced with the Syrian authorities shoot-to-kill strategy, the international community needs to impose sanctions on those ordering the shooting of protesters,” Mr. Stork added.

DPA

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3 responses to “At least 20 killed by Syrian troops in Daraa”

  1. US Senator John McCain is calling for the “taking out” of Qaddafi and Assad. I support him, 1,000%…..we need to aim directly at those two clowns, and put the Libyan and Syrian people, out of their misery, once and for all….no more messing around. If we had had that option in World War Two, we would not have taken out Hitler to stop the genocide? Of course we would have….no doubt about it….

    We have the option to stop all these massacres and as the leader of the Free World, we should do it….

    Who would complain? No one…..not even Qaddafi or Assad’s “supporters”…..if you think about it…they are waiting for someone else to do their dirty work, so let’s do it for them and for the innocent and good people of Libya and Syria……

    Finish them off, once and for all….A few Tomahawk missiles will do the trick, and our government knows exactly where those two idiots are, 24 x 7, so it won’t be hard to locate them to minimize the collateral damage…..Allah yerhamoun…..I say we do it, and the faster, the better, to save more innocent lives….

  2. US Senator John McCain is calling for the “taking out” of Qaddafi and Assad. I support him, 1,000%…..we need to aim directly at those two clowns, and put the Libyan and Syrian people, out of their misery, once and for all….no more messing around. If we had had that option in World War Two, we would not have taken out Hitler to stop the genocide? Of course we would have….no doubt about it….

    We have the option to stop all these massacres and as the leader of the Free World, we should do it….

    Who would complain? No one…..not even Qaddafi or Assad’s “supporters”…..if you think about it…they are waiting for someone else to do their dirty work, so let’s do it for them and for the innocent and good people of Libya and Syria……

    Finish them off, once and for all….A few Tomahawk missiles will do the trick, and our government knows exactly where those two idiots are, 24 x 7, so it won’t be hard to locate them to minimize the collateral damage…..Allah yerhamoun…..I say we do it, and the faster, the better, to save more innocent lives….

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