Syria unrest: Crackdown on Latakia port intensifies

bbc.co.uk

15 August 2011

Renewed heavy gunfire is reported in the Syrian port city of Latakia as a military crackdown on unrest entered a third day.

Activists say 27 people have died and that residents trying to flee the Ramel district, including women and children, have been fired on by troops.

The government says it is tackling armed terrorist gangs.

More than 1,700 people have reportedly died in the six-month uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

‘Shooting is intense’

The Ramel quarter and neighbouring areas are said to be under constant heavy gunfire as tanks and troops move through the streets.

The assault began on Saturday, a day after mass anti-government protests in the city.

Latakia was one of the cities to be caught up in the revolt soon after it erupted in mid-March. Despite repeated attempts by the regime to stifle defiance, it keeps breaking out.

It is a sensitive city. Its population is 600,000 or so, and it has a Sunni Muslim majority, as does the country, but there are also areas dominated by President Assad’s minority Alawite community.

The current punishment is being meted out to mainly Sunni areas, a fact that could further aggravate sectarian tensions already sensitised by the situation. Read more…

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• Syria uses gunboats against city of Latakia
• Syrian navy turns guns on city
• Opposition: Syrian forces shell port city, kill 25

~ par Alain Bertho sur 15 août 2011.

Publié dans émeutes, riots, الشغب