WarSclerotic

Syria’s army has advanced into the southern city of Deraa, with tanks being used to back troops, according to activists and unverified video footage.

One activist was quoted as saying that security forces were “firing in all directions”, and at least five people were reportedly killed.

Witnesses also said security forces had opened fire in a suburb of Damascus.

A prominent human rights campaigner said President Bashar al-Ashad had launched a “savage war” on protesters.

There have been numerous reports of crackdowns and arrests around Syria over recent days, despite the lifting of an emergency law last week.

On Sunday, at least 13 people were reported to have been killed in the north-western city of Jabla, while dozens of protesters died on Friday.

Deraa is the city in which protesters began calling for political reforms last month. Many are now demanding that President Assad step down.

‘Electricity cut’

One activist told the BBC that in Deraa on Monday, tanks had surrounded al-Omari mosque in the old city and security forces were removing dead bodies from the street.

AFP news agency quoted an activist as saying that an estimated 3,000 members of the security forces had entered Deraa, and snipers had been firing from roofs.

Another activist, Abdullah al-Harriri, told AFP: “The men are firing in all directions and advancing behind the armour which is protecting them,” he said.

“Electricity is cut off and telephone communications are virtually impossible.”

Several reports said that at least five people had been killed.

Foreign journalists have been prevented from entering the country, making information hard to verify.

But the BBC’s Owen Bennett-Jones in neighbouring Lebanon says the use of tanks has not been reported elsewhere in Syria, and would mark a scaling up in the government’s response to protests.

It appears from the latest reports that the government is absolutely determined to use force to suppress the protest movement, he says.

A leading Syrian campaigner, Suhair al-Atassi, said authorities had launched “a savage war designed to annihilate Syria’s democrats”.

Gateway to south

Deraa, where several officials have resigned in protest against the killing of demonstrators, is the main city of Syria’s Hawran region.

Situated just a few miles from the border with Jordan, it has long been a gateway to the south.

Many in the north-western town of 80,000 are members of the same Alawite minority as President Assad, and they have generally avoided joining protests until now.

The authorities have reacted erratically to demonstrations – sometimes promising to allow more democracy and freedoms, and other times opening fire on demonstrators.

At least 95 people were reported killed across Syria on Friday and a further 12 on Saturday, as mourners came under fire.

In total, more than 350 people have been killed since demonstrations started in March, activists say.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch called for a UN inquiry and international sanctions against Syria following Friday’s killings, while Western governments have become louder in their criticism of the Syrian government.

US President Barack Obama spoke on Friday of the “outrageous use of violence to quell protests”.

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