Tanks and armored vehicles of the Syrian army were deployed around the city of Rastan, witnesses said, raising fears a new wave of repression against demonstrators who defy the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Residents said that since yesterday, military vehicles took up positions in the north of the city and 15 kilometers from the south entrance.
The tanks were made after residents rejected a claim by a ruling Baath Party official to deliver to several hundred men to the authorities. Residents said security forces killed 17 demonstrators last Friday and a human rights activist said about 50 members of the Baath party resigned. A Syrian human rights group said hundreds of people were accused of "defaming the reputation of the State" as part of the campaign of President Assad to crush pro-democracy movement against the government of 11 years.
The charge, which can lead to three years in prison, was filed on Tuesday against hundreds of people arrested this week before Friday, the Muslim day of prayers that usually result in the largest demonstrations demanding the fall of Assad. The campaign intensified after an army unit supported by tanks and led by Assad's brother Maher, last week attacked the old town of Dera, the cradle of the uprising of six weeks.
Instability in Syria could have serious implications for its neighbors. The Baath has maintained an anti-Israeli alliance with Iran, but also a ceasefire pact with the Jewish state since 1970. Assad said the army would end its mission in Dera soon, according to the semiofficial newspaper Al-Watan, downplaying the uprising and the army's response, which Washington has condemned as "barbaric." Authorities blame the unrest and armed groups infiltrated, arguing that they have fired on civilians and security forces.
Wissam Tarif, executive director of the Insan human rights group, said two thousand 843 prisoners had been verified by relatives but the real figure could rise to eight thousand. More than 800 of them were arrested in Dera. 
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The tanks were made after residents rejected a claim by a ruling Baath Party official to deliver to several hundred men to the authorities. Residents said security forces killed 17 demonstrators last Friday and a human rights activist said about 50 members of the Baath party resigned. A Syrian human rights group said hundreds of people were accused of "defaming the reputation of the State" as part of the campaign of President Assad to crush pro-democracy movement against the government of 11 years.
The charge, which can lead to three years in prison, was filed on Tuesday against hundreds of people arrested this week before Friday, the Muslim day of prayers that usually result in the largest demonstrations demanding the fall of Assad. The campaign intensified after an army unit supported by tanks and led by Assad's brother Maher, last week attacked the old town of Dera, the cradle of the uprising of six weeks.
Instability in Syria could have serious implications for its neighbors. The Baath has maintained an anti-Israeli alliance with Iran, but also a ceasefire pact with the Jewish state since 1970. Assad said the army would end its mission in Dera soon, according to the semiofficial newspaper Al-Watan, downplaying the uprising and the army's response, which Washington has condemned as "barbaric." Authorities blame the unrest and armed groups infiltrated, arguing that they have fired on civilians and security forces.
Wissam Tarif, executive director of the Insan human rights group, said two thousand 843 prisoners had been verified by relatives but the real figure could rise to eight thousand. More than 800 of them were arrested in Dera.
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