Syrian troops take key Daraa mosque, kill 4
BEIRUT: A witness says Syrian army troops backed by tanks and three helicopters conquered prominent mosque under control of residents, killing four people. Daraa resident Abdullah Abazeid says the Saturday morning operation lasted 90 minutes during which troops used tank shells and heavy machineguns .
The Omari mosque, in Daraa's Roman-era old town, had been under the control of the residents since the army began a major operation Monday, he said. He said that among the dead was Osama Ahmad, the son of the mosque's Imam Sheikh Ahmad Sayasna. The other three were a woman and her two daughters who were killed when a tank shell hit their home near the mosque. A government crackdown in the country has left at least 535 civilians dead.
Four tanks, 20 armored personnel carriers and a military ambulance rumbled into Daraa early in the morning , a resident of the city. Daraa, which is at the heart of a six-week-old uprising against the government, has been under siege since Monday when the government first sent in tanks to crush the daily demonstrations.
The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul-Rahman , said 65 people were killed on Friday . with 36 deaths in the Daraa province, 27 in the central Homs region and one in Latakia and another in the Damascus countryside. Total civilian deaths since the uprising began has reached 535, he said. The latest deaths came as the United States slapped three top officials in Assad's regime — including his brother — with sanctions and nations agreed to launch a UN-led investigation of Syria's crackdown.
An activist said authorities have asked families of some of those killed Friday to hold small funerals attended by family members only. Similar orders were given last week but most people did not abide by them, the activist added. The move appeared to be an attempt by authorities to avoid more bloodshed, with funerals in the past weeks turned into demonstrations.
The Omari mosque, in Daraa's Roman-era old town, had been under the control of the residents since the army began a major operation Monday, he said. He said that among the dead was Osama Ahmad, the son of the mosque's Imam Sheikh Ahmad Sayasna. The other three were a woman and her two daughters who were killed when a tank shell hit their home near the mosque. A government crackdown in the country has left at least 535 civilians dead.
Four tanks, 20 armored personnel carriers and a military ambulance rumbled into Daraa early in the morning , a resident of the city. Daraa, which is at the heart of a six-week-old uprising against the government, has been under siege since Monday when the government first sent in tanks to crush the daily demonstrations.
The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul-Rahman , said 65 people were killed on Friday . with 36 deaths in the Daraa province, 27 in the central Homs region and one in Latakia and another in the Damascus countryside. Total civilian deaths since the uprising began has reached 535, he said. The latest deaths came as the United States slapped three top officials in Assad's regime — including his brother — with sanctions and nations agreed to launch a UN-led investigation of Syria's crackdown.
An activist said authorities have asked families of some of those killed Friday to hold small funerals attended by family members only. Similar orders were given last week but most people did not abide by them, the activist added. The move appeared to be an attempt by authorities to avoid more bloodshed, with funerals in the past weeks turned into demonstrations.
(source:imesofindia.indiatimes.com)
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