Dubai More than 200 members of Syria's ruling Baath Party quit in protest against President Bashar Al Assad's brutal crackdown on opponents as tanks rolled into Latakia on Wednesday night.
Shooting was heard in the city yesterday as human rights groups say up to 500 people have been killed since the unrest began in March. The current crackdown on Latakia is significant due to the city's close ties to Al Assad's Allawite sect.
Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud said yesterday that the crackdown would continue, despite a European Union threat of sanctions and growing world pressure to allow peaceful protests. "The authorities are determined to restore security, stability and peace to the citizens," Mahmoud said.
Hiding bodies
In Daraa, the military operation continued against protesters. At least 43 people have been killed since Monday in Daraa alone.
Witnesses confirmed the death of a six-year-old girl, hit by a sniper. Resident Abdullah Abazeid, who spoke with AFP, said that residents were hiding the dead bodies from authorities because the cemetery was being occupied by Syrian forces.
"The situation is worsening. We have neither doctors nor medical supplies, not even baby milk. The electricity is always cut and we haven't any more water," Abazeid said in a phone interview. The particularly brutal crackdown in Daraa has prompted the Facebook group Syrian Revolution 2011, to call for yet another ‘Friday of Anger' in solidarity with Daraa.
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