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Deaths and arrests in Deraa
[Al Jazeera]  Gunfire continued to reverberate across the city of Deraa on Tuesday, residents said, a day after thousands of soldiers swept into the city, with tanks taking up positions in the town centre and snipers deploying on rooftops, witnesses said."We've been listening to live ammunition. Some snipers are working as well, but we don't know from where," a resident of Deraa told Al Jizz on Tuesday. "The snipers are on all the roofs. I'm now on my stomach, on the ground - I am really in a panicked situation. The city is quite in danger." Witnesses said soldiers began opening fire on civilians indiscriminately after arriving in Deraa, sparking panic in the streets. However, The well-oiled However... the government insists the army was invited in to rid the town of gunnies. Al Jizz's Rula Amin, reporting from Damascus, said the government has reiterated that it is there to protect residents. ... by turning the town to rubble... A Deraa resident describes to Al Jizz a desperate situation on the ground in the restive southern city. "What we are hearing from activists in Damascus is fear and concern that what the government is trying to do is crush the protests to create fear among people to stay at home. "Then [the government will] come up with its own plan of reforms, but people won't be able to stand up and defy these reforms. That is how the government wants to move forward." She said the troop deployment was an "unprecedented" offensive against the wave of dissent that has swept the country since the uprising began on March 15. Up until now, she said, security forces had cracked down in reaction to protests. But the flood of troops into Douma and Deraa came in the absence of any demonstrations. "We're seeing a different tactic, with security forces sweeping the towns," she said, noting reports of house-to-house searches, arrests and random shooting coming from both towns. Also for the first time, the military has become directly involved in quelling the uprising, much to the disappointment of opposition activists. "They were hoping the army would not get involved," our correspondent said. "They feel this is only the beginning of a very serious crackdown." However, The well-oiled However... one activist told Al Jizz that some army officers have defected to fight alongside the people of Deraa against the government. Two members stepped down from the provincial council in Deraa. The resignations came a day after two politicians and a religious leader from Deraa broke with the government in disgust over the killings. Posted by: Fred 2011-04-27 |
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