| Syrian troops 'withdraw' from key cities |
State media say security operations ended in Deir ez-Zor and areas of Latakia after assaults said to have killed dozens. |
Syrian military and security forces are withdrawing from the city of Deir ez-Zor and key areas in Latakia, according to Syrian state media, following operations which anti-government activists say have left dozens dead.
Convoys of army vehicles were seen leaving Deir ez-Zor after the military cleared the area of "armed terrorist gangs," SANA, the state-run news agency, reported.
Journalists on a government-organised trip to the city on Tuesday reported armoured personnel carriers and other military vehicles were leaving, and footage showed pictures of crowds chanting and cheering as the soldiers left.
But only hours later, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that one person was killed when security forces opened fired to disperse an anti-government protest in the city when "hundreds of people" marched in Takaya street.
Residents said tanks were still present at the outskirts of Deir ez-Zor and that troops were raiding houses looking for wanted dissidents. Activists say at least 32 people have died since troops seized control of the city last Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Syria's interior ministry said security forces had completed their operation in the al-Ramel al-Janoubi neighbourhood of the coastal city of Latakia, which had been subjected to a four-day assault that activists say has left at least 36 people dead.
Brigadier General Mohammad Hassan al-Ali said al-Ramel al-Janoubi, which houses a Palestinian refugee camp, "is recovering and the citizens are practicing their normal life that was spoiled by the acts of the terrorist groups," SANA reported.
Al Jazeera is unable to independently verify reports from Syria because of media restrictions.
Heavy fire
A resident of the al-Ramel al-Janoubi neighbourhood, who called himself Ismail, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that gunboats and tanks had been used in the assault on Latakia. He said snipers were stationed around the city, shooting at anyone who ventured into the streets.
Regional powers have turned up the pressure on Assad |
"What's happening is really severe ... The moment they see anything moving they will shoot it," he said.
Troops raided and destroyed houses in several neighbourhoods while gunfire could be heard, residents said.
"The heavy machine gun fire and bullets were intense in areas of Latakia, Ramel, Masbah al-Shaab and Ain Tamra for more than three hours," said the UK-based SOHR.
The group said soldiers raided the Sqanturi area and made dozens of arrests.
The UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees in Latakia said that thousands of refugees had fled their camp which reportedly came under fire after President Bashar al-Assad's forces began shelling the city.
"A forgotten population has become a disappeared population because we have no idea of the whereabouts of as many as 10,000 refugees who fled Latakia over the last few days,'' said UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness.
Anti-government protesters meanwhile continued to take to the streets on Tuesday night - including in Homs, Albu Kamal near the Iraqi border, Binnish in the north and in some Damascus suburbs - despite reports of deaths and arrests as the military cracked down on demonstrators.
Violence condemned
A senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organisation condemned the violence used against Palestinian refugees in Latakia.
"The shelling is taking place using gunships and tanks on houses built from tin, on people who have no place to run to or even a shelter to hide in. This is a crime against humanity." Yasser Abed Rabbo, the PLO secretary general, told the Reuters news agency.
British Foreign Minister, William Hague, meanwhile said in a statement: "The regime's violence continues despite widespread condemnation by the international community. The calls for the violence to stop, including from Syria's neighbours, have not been heeded."
Western diplomats said the UN's top human rights body is likely to hold an urgent meeting next week to discuss the escalating crackdown in Syria, according to the AP news agency.
The crackdown in Syria has escalated since the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan, when nightly prayers became the occasion for more protests against Assad and 41 years of Baathist rule.
Syria's key regional ally Iran warned on Tuesday that any Western intervention in the "internal affairs" of Damascus would stoke "public hatred" in the region.
