Syrian Forces Surround Town

By Shannon Liao
July 17, 2011

Syrian police forces on Sunday surrounded a town on the eastern border with Iraq after tens of thousands of residents staged protests denouncing President Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reported.

Protesters in Albu Kamal were encouraged to come to the streets by recent defections of some security personnel, according to the report.

Around 1,000 loyal military and security personnel surrounded the town overnight with tanks and helicopters.

Media and Syrian human right groups put the number of killed over the past four months of unrest at between 1,400 and 1,900.

Security forces have been shooting protesters and are responsible for most of the killings, according to Hozan Ibrahim, a spokesperson for the rights group, Local Coordination Committees of Syria.

An activist told Reuters that tribal leaders are negotiating with the army to arrange a deal to return previously seized army vehicles and weapons and in return army troops will stay out of Albu Kamal and nearby villages.

On Saturday, military agents killed five protesters including a 14-year-old boy.

Source: The Epoch Times.
Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/syrian-forces-surround-town-59186.html.