Syrian gunboats fire on coastal city; 22 killed

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Syrian gunboats firing heavy machine guns pounded impoverished districts of Latakia on Sunday, killing at least 22 people in a renewed assault on the Mediterranean coastal city, activists said.

As the gunships blasted waterfront districts, ground troops backed by tanks and security agents stormed several neighborhoods. The sharp crackle of machine-gun fire and loud explosions could be heard across the city.

In this image taken on a cellphone by a citizen journalist and provided by Shaam News Network, protesters against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad hold up an Arabic banner reading, “Enough killing, will not bow,” during a demonstration in the village of Maarat Harma in northern Syria’s Edlib province on Friday, Aug. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network)

“We are being targeted from the ground and the sea,” said a resident of the al-Ramel district, which is also home to a Palestinian refugee camp. “The shooting is intense. Many homes have been destroyed, and the ‘shabiha’ (thugs) have broken into shops and businesses.”

He said that at least three gunboats were taking part in the offensive and that many people have been killed and wounded. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

“We cannot go out. They are raiding and breaking into people’s homes,” he said, citing reports that about a hundred people have been arrested.

The intense operation in Latakia, a key port city once known as a summer tourist draw, is part of a brutal government crackdown on several Syrian cities meant to root out protesters demanding the ouster of President Bashar Assad.

The city has a potentially explosive sectarian mix. Sunnis, which are a majority in Syria, live in Latakia’s urban core, while Mr. Assad’s minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, populates villages on the city’s outskirts, along with small minorities of Christians, ethnic Turks and other groups.

The crackdown, which has targeted predominantly Sunni areas of the city of more than 600,000, raised concerns of sectarian bloodshed in a country that already has seen an alarming rise in sectarian tensions since the start of the uprising.

On Saturday, at least 20 tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled into the city’s al-Ramel district amid intense gunfire that sent many residents fleeing the area. Activists said at least two people were killed.

The security forces appear to be intent on crushing dissent in the al-Ramel neighborhood, which has seen large anti-Assad protests since the Syrian uprising in mid-March. On Friday, as many as 10,000 people took to the streets there, calling for Mr. Assad’s ouster.

After their initial assault on the city Saturday, Syrian security forces pushed back into Latakia again Sunday.

In al-Ramel alone, at least 21 people have died in the shooting, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The activist network the Local Coordination Committees put the number at 19.

Both groups said gunboats in the Mediterranean are taking part in the offensive, firing heavy machine guns. A large number of people were wounded as a result of the indiscriminate firing on houses, they said.

“They are trying to take control of the city as they did in other places,” Mr. Abdul-Rahman said.

Amateur videos posted on the Internet by activists showed at least one gunship patrolling the coast opposite al-Ramel and tanks rumbling along the waterfront.

WP

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31 responses to “Syrian gunboats fire on coastal city; 22 killed”

  1. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Oh, nice. Shoot the poor so you don’t have to look after them. Wonderful ‘discussion-plan’ Assad. Nice Navy you have there.
    Better hope they are not invading Lebanese ‘ocean territory’ – call Hezzbolla to check on that.

    But maybe some Lebanese can get us better pictures ….

  2.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Oh, nice. Shoot the poor so you don’t have to look after them. Wonderful ‘discussion-plan’ Assad. Nice Navy you have there.
    Better hope they are not invading Lebanese ‘ocean territory’ – call Hezzbolla to check on that.

  3. Amine123 Avatar

    When Assad will use Nuclear power to subdue the Syrian people???? Where is the world

    1. austleb70 Avatar
      austleb70

      What???

  4.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    When Assad will use Nuclear power to subdue the Syrian people???? Where is the world

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      What???

  5.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    When Assad will use Nuclear power to subdue the Syrian people???? Where is the world

  6. Fauzia45 Avatar

    Even gunboats!Wow!Tanks and gunboats against their own people!!I believe they have lost all reason!!!

    1. Hannibal Avatar

      They did the same in Lebanon mistaken Ashrafieh for the Golan Heights. I do not blame them though as at the time they did not have GPS yet so the Syrian Army went West instead of South (and got their ass kicked) 😉

    2. Hannibal Avatar

      They did the same in Lebanon mistaken Ashrafieh for the Golan Heights. I do not blame them though as at the time they did not have GPS yet so the Syrian Army went West instead of South (and got their ass kicked) 😉

    3. antar2011 Avatar
      antar2011

      i believe so…

      law of the jungle to them

  7.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Even gunboats!Wow!Tanks and gunboats against their own people!!I believe they have lost all reason!!!

    1. They did the same in Lebanon mistaken Ashrafieh for the Golan Heights. I do not blame them though as at the time they did not have GPS yet so the Syrian Army went West instead of South (and got their ass kicked) 😉

    2.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      i believe so…

      law of the jungle to them

  8. I really hope Turkey and the Saudi’s dont wait 2 more weeks like they have given this guy.. Im sorry, troops will die, but it’s well past time to go in and stop this..We will back them up in crushing this monster once and for all.And dont worry about Iran, My country just needs the excuse to take care of that issue.
    With all the warships in the Med of Libya, we can spare one to sink that pitiful navy..get on it Obama

    1. 2160John Avatar

      How about you send Israel. Arabs don’t want to do your dirty work.

      1. So how is it my fault Assad is killing his people,or my requirement to stop it?As Syria’s neighbor its their moral duty to help their brothers.

  9. I really hope Turkey and the Saudi’s dont wait 2 more weeks like they have given this guy.. Im sorry, troops will die, but it’s well past time to go in and stop this..We will back them up in crushing this monster once and for all.And dont worry about Iran, My country just needs the excuse to take care of that issue.
    With all the warships in the Med of Libya, we can spare one to sink that pitiful navy..get on it Obama

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      How about you send Israel. Arabs don’t want to do your dirty work.

      1. So how is it my fault Assad is killing his people,or my requirement to stop it?As Syria’s neighbor its their moral duty to help their brothers.

  10. guss043 Avatar

    Assad the father was confused and thought liberating Israel started by taking Lebanon and Killing its leaders , same is the son , the only thing that now ,that the Lebanese kicked his Aalawite ass out of  Lebanon  so he turned against his people , and now he’s sending his army further north, day by day the Syrian regime goes away from the border from Israel, I guess soon is the the Turkish border and Turkey will enter and save the Sunni ,someone need to tell the tall ,criminal , assassin , the stupid Idiot in his sun glasses that the border with Israel is north

    1. guss043 Avatar

      not north but far south of Syria

    2. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Check Google Maps, please ….

    3. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Check Google Maps, please ….

  11. guss043 Avatar

    Assad the father was confused and thought liberating Israel started by taking Lebanon and Killing its leaders , same is the son , the only thing that now ,that the Lebanese kicked his Aalawite ass out of  Lebanon  so he turned against his people , and now he’s sending his army further north, day by day the Syrian regime goes away from the border from Israel, I guess soon is the the Turkish border and Turkey will enter and save the Sunni ,someone need to tell the tall ,criminal , assassin , the stupid Idiot in his sun glasses that the border with Israel is north

    1. guss043 Avatar

      not north but far south of Syria

    2.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      Check Google Maps, please ….

  12. Leborigine Avatar
    Leborigine

    Do they use oars to run this thing or does it have an engine?? It looks more like a scaroub to me!

  13.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Do they use oars to run this thing or does it have an engine?? It looks more like a scaroub to me!

  14. Lebman12 Avatar

    Is there any city or town not bombed yet ? maybe Assad needs to Google Search to find more cities,
    and shame to the *^&%(*#( so called free world countries not to attemtp to stop this mad man,
    the era of imposing sanctions, warnings, calling ambassadors home etc. is uneffective anymore, this needs military intervention, no matter who,

  15.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Is there any city or town not bombed yet ? maybe Assad needs to Google Search to find more cities,
    and shame to the *^&%(*#( so called free world countries not to attemtp to stop this mad man,
    the era of imposing sanctions, warnings, calling ambassadors home etc. is uneffective anymore, this needs military intervention, no matter who,

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