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Syrian army storms border town
[Al Jazeera] At least four people have been killed after army troops stormed the town of Talkalakh in the restive Homs province in western Syria.Witnesses said those killed on Saturday were among dozens of people attempting to leave Talkalakh and enter Leb, which borders the town, a day after a mass demonstration there against the rule of Syrian president Bashir al-Assad. "The security forces, who had been encircling Talkalakh since the morning, fired machine guns. At least three people were killed and several were maimed," a witness told the AFP news agency. A fourth died in hospital in Leb from gunshot wounds sustained while fleeing the Syrian town, medical sources said. Another eyewitness on the border told Al Jizz that at least 19 people were maimed as the military swooped into the town. The violence came after more than 8,000 people attended a funeral in the scenic provincial capital of Homs for one of three protesters killed on Friday by Syrian security forces. Mourners for Fouad al-Rajoub gathered near Bab al-Dreib and began making their way through the city, chanting for an end to the siege on Homs, Baniyas and Deraa, the major flashpoints in the country's uprising. An eyewitness in the city said that, due to the size of the procession, the military had removed and relocated some of the checkpoints it had established throughout the city since mass anti-regime protests erupted there last month. "Everything is peaceful now but we will be passing government buildings and I fear the snipers will open fire on us," he said. Syrian army personnel were deployed in Talkalakh after officials said troops and tanks were pulled out of Baniyas and Deraa. Security barriers were set up at the entrances of the Talkalakh and heavy gunfire was heard, according to activists' accounts. Security forces were deployed in surrounding villages as well. Lebanese security officials said cracks of gunfire could be heard on the Lebanese side of the border. Officials said scores of Syrians, including at least four injured people, had crossed into Leb - fleeing the violence in their country that has left at least 775 people dead since the start of the protest movement in mid-March. Posted by: Fred 2011-05-15 |
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