The Syrian army continued its offensive against the outbreaks of protest to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Sunday, May 8 After the city of Baniyas, where the tanks had entered the plan on Saturday, it was the turn of the cities of Homs and Tafas being stormed by the armed forces. His organization said more than 250 people were arrested between Saturday night and Sunday, including dozens of women and a child of 10 years.
Those arrested included Sheikh Anas Al-Ayrout, considered the leader of the movement. The security forces also encircled the hospital of Al-Jamiyyeh and have arrested several doctors, according to the Observatory. Homs, industrial city of central Syria is surrounded by tanks of the system since Friday.
They have entered the city Sunday at dawn. The procedure was the same as Baniyas: the telephone and electricity were cut off before the districts where the opposition is strongest are invested by the army. A 12 year old child was killed by gunfire, said an activist for human rights, without clarifying the circumstances of the shooting.
He also reported other deaths in Homs without being able to provide the number. "Snipers took up positions on rooftops in the neighborhood of Karam al-Shami," he added. An activist of Human Rights on this site mentioned the firing of heavy machine guns. At least eight tanks also came Sunday morning to Tafas, city of 30,000 inhabitants near Dera, which left in March, the protest movement.
The offensive since Friday by the Syrian army is shown in the official press as "a fierce battle against groups that use heavy weapons, anti-tank rockets and machine guns." The Syrian authorities have described as Baniyas a "center of Salafi terrorism." Al-Watan, a private newspaper close to the government, also reported that Bashar Al-Assad met on Saturday a delegation of young Syrians who "spoke of the violent practices of some security guards." "President Assad has not denied these practices and said it was individual behavior and that the government was working to contain the crisis and avert violence," the newspaper added.
Riad Seif, a leading opposition figures, was also charged Sunday by the Justice for violating the ban on demonstrations, according to the lawyer Khalil Maatouk. Riad Seif, who suffers from cancer, told the judge he was "struck in the head by security officers" before being arrested Friday near Midan, in downtown Damascus.
Seif, 64, has served a sentence of two and a half years for calling for democracy in his country. It was one of twelve opponents who had signed the "Damascus Declaration" calling for democratic change in Syria. Since the crackdown began in mid-March, nearly 600 people were killed across Syria, mostly in Deraa, according to NGOs.
The number of persons "detained or missing could exceed 8,000," he added Tuesday Wissam Tarif, executive director of the advocacy organization Human Rights Insan. 
Those arrested included Sheikh Anas Al-Ayrout, considered the leader of the movement. The security forces also encircled the hospital of Al-Jamiyyeh and have arrested several doctors, according to the Observatory. Homs, industrial city of central Syria is surrounded by tanks of the system since Friday.
They have entered the city Sunday at dawn. The procedure was the same as Baniyas: the telephone and electricity were cut off before the districts where the opposition is strongest are invested by the army. A 12 year old child was killed by gunfire, said an activist for human rights, without clarifying the circumstances of the shooting.
He also reported other deaths in Homs without being able to provide the number. "Snipers took up positions on rooftops in the neighborhood of Karam al-Shami," he added. An activist of Human Rights on this site mentioned the firing of heavy machine guns. At least eight tanks also came Sunday morning to Tafas, city of 30,000 inhabitants near Dera, which left in March, the protest movement.
The offensive since Friday by the Syrian army is shown in the official press as "a fierce battle against groups that use heavy weapons, anti-tank rockets and machine guns." The Syrian authorities have described as Baniyas a "center of Salafi terrorism." Al-Watan, a private newspaper close to the government, also reported that Bashar Al-Assad met on Saturday a delegation of young Syrians who "spoke of the violent practices of some security guards." "President Assad has not denied these practices and said it was individual behavior and that the government was working to contain the crisis and avert violence," the newspaper added.
Riad Seif, a leading opposition figures, was also charged Sunday by the Justice for violating the ban on demonstrations, according to the lawyer Khalil Maatouk. Riad Seif, who suffers from cancer, told the judge he was "struck in the head by security officers" before being arrested Friday near Midan, in downtown Damascus.
Seif, 64, has served a sentence of two and a half years for calling for democracy in his country. It was one of twelve opponents who had signed the "Damascus Declaration" calling for democratic change in Syria. Since the crackdown began in mid-March, nearly 600 people were killed across Syria, mostly in Deraa, according to NGOs.
The number of persons "detained or missing could exceed 8,000," he added Tuesday Wissam Tarif, executive director of the advocacy organization Human Rights Insan.
- Hundreds Reported Arrested as Syria's Crackdown Widens - New York Times (09/05/2011)
- Rights Groups: Syrian Forces Raid More Cities - Voice of America (08/05/2011)
- Syria detains hundreds, hindering protesters' efforts to organize - Christian Science Monitor (09/05/2011)
- Syria tightens control over more urban areas - Aljazeera.net (08/05/2011)
- Syrian tanks storm southern town (08/05/2011)
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