Syrian tanks ‘pound Deir al-Zour’

Monday, August 8th, 2011

by admin

8 August 2011 Last updated at 05:45 ET

Amateur video purporting to show Syrian armoured vehicles on a bridge in Deir al-Zour (7 August 2011)

The army’s assault on Deir al-Zour began during the dawn call to prayer on Sunday

The Syrian army is shelling the eastern city of Deir al-Zour for a second day, reports say, as regional pressure mounts on President Bashar al-Assad.

Activists and residents said explosions and gunfire resumed early on Monday, and that troops backed by tanks had re-entered the city’s eastern side.

At least 50 people died on Sunday after the army launched a pre-dawn assault.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah said the violence against civilian protesters in Syria was unacceptable.

He said the Mr Assad’s government had to implement real reforms and stop what he called the “death machine” before it was too late.

Turkey and the Arab League earlier made similar appeals.

Human rights activists say at least 1,700 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands arrested since the uprising began in mid-March.

‘Protecting citizens’

On Monday, the Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist group that documents and organises protests, said machine-gun and artillery fire could once again be heard in Deir al-Zour.

Mohammed, a resident, told the Reuters news agency that armoured vehicles were shelling the al-Hawiqa district heavily with 76mm (3in) guns.

The al-Joura district, which straddles the Euphrates river, was also hit hard and thousands of residents of both areas had fled, he said.

“Private hospitals are closed and people are afraid to send the wounded to state facilities because they are infested with secret police,” he added.

The assault on Deir al-Zour, about 450km (280 miles) east of Damascus, began during the dawn call to prayer on Sunday, with scores of tanks and armoured personnel carriers moving into several parts of the city.

Residents of the al-Joura district said that snipers had taken up positions on the rooftops of several buildings. They also reported that some soldiers had defected rather than shoot civilians.

State media said local leaders had called on the army to “protect the citizens and preserve public and private property”.

Troops armed with heavy weapons and backed by armoured vehicles also stormed the town of Maarat al-Numan, in the northern province of Idlib, at dawn on Monday, the Local Co-ordination Committees said.

“Forces entered the city from its eastern side and they are preventing the residents from entering or leaving the city.”

Access to Syria has been severely restricted for international journalists and it is rarely possible to verify accounts by witnesses and activists.

‘Enact reforms’

In a major escalation of international pressure on President Assad to halt the deadly crackdown on dissent, King Abdullah announced that his country had recalled its ambassador to Damascus for consultations.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia shakes hands with Bashar al-Assad in Damascus (July 2010)

The criticism of Bashar al-Assad comes from one of the most influential Arab leaders

“What is happening in Syria is not acceptable for Saudi Arabia,” he said in a statement read out on the Saudi-owned satellite channel, al-Arabiya TV. “There are only two options for Syria’s future: either it chooses wisdom on its own, or it will be pulled down into the depths of chaos and loss.

“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia… demands an end to the killing machine and bloodshed and calls for acts of wisdom before it is too late.

“Syria should think wisely before it is too late and issue and enact reforms that are not merely promises but actual reforms,” he added.

The BBC’s Jim Muir in Beirut says that by Arab diplomatic standards, it was a highly dramatic intervention by the Saudi monarch.

It is by far the clearest and toughest regional position Syria has met, and it comes from one of the most influential Arab powers, he adds.

The Arab League also issued a statement on Syria for the first time on Sunday. It said it was “alarmed” and called for an end to the violence.

Another major force in the region, Turkey, is stepping up the pressure too, our correspondent adds. Its Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, is due in Damascus on Tuesday with a “tough” message for Mr Assad.

Damascus has said its critics are ignoring the killings and destruction by “armed terrorist gangs”, and also ignoring the reform programme that the president has launched in a bid to defuse the crisis.

: Syria’s anti-government protests, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, first erupted in mid-March after the arrest of a group of teenagers who spray-painted a revolutionary slogan on a wall. The protests soon spread, and human rights activists and opposition groups say 1,700 people have died in the turmoil, while thousands more have been injured.

: Although the arrest of the teenagers in the southern city of Deraa first prompted people to take to the streets, unrest has since spread to other areas, including Hama, Homs, Latakia, Jisr al-Shughour and Baniyas. Demonstrators are demanding greater freedom, an end to corruption, and, increasingly, the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.

: President Assad’s government has responded to the protests with overwhelming military force, sending tanks and troops into at least nine towns and cities. In Deraa and Homs – where protests have persisted ? amateur video footage shows tanks firing on unarmed protesters, while snipers have been seen shooting at residents venturing outside their homes.

: Some of the bloodiest events have taken place in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour. In early June, officials claimed 120 security personnel were killed by armed gangs, however protesters said the dead were shot by troops for refusing to kill demonstrators. As the military moved to take control of the town, thousands fled to neighbouring Turkey, taking refuge in camps.

: Although the major cities of Damascus and Aleppo have seen pockets of unrest and some protests, it has not been widespread – due partly to a heavy security presence. There have been rallies in the capital – one with an enormous Syrian flag – in support of President Assad, who still receives the backing of many in Syria’s middle class, business elite and minority groups.

: The Assad family has been in power for 40 years, with Bashar al-Assad inheriting office in 2000. The president has opened up the economy, but has continued to jail critics and control the media. He is from the minority Alawite sect – an offshoot of Shia Islam ? but the country’s 20 million people are mainly Sunni. The biggest protests have been in Sunni-majority areas.

: Although the US and EU have condemned the violence and imposed sanctions, the UN Security Council has been unable to agree on a response. Some fear the country could descend into civil war if the government collapsed, while others believe chaos in Syria ? with its strategic location and its web of regional alliances – could destabilise the entire Middle East.