Syria: Tanks and armoured vehicles storm Daraa as government launches raids on opposition leaders

Syria: Tanks and armoured vehicles storm Daraa as government launches raids on opposition leaders

• Human rights campaigner accuses government of 'declaring war' on people
• 120 protesters killed since Friday
• Leading opposition figures detained in series of raids
• Border crossings to Jordan closed to traffic as security forces drive tanks into Daraa
• White House considering 'targeted sanctions' against Syrian government
  

Syrian troops in tanks and armoured vehicles stormed the southern town of Daraa this morning in the latest crackdown on anti-government protests.

Activists posted footage on social media sites of troops apparently opening fire on demonstrators as heavy gunfire can be heard in the background.

More than 300 people have been killed across the country in five weeks of violent protests - including 120 since Friday - as people demand President Bashar Assad steps down.

Desperate: A man hurls a rock at a passing tank as it rolls into Daraa this morning

Ineffective: The man watches as his rock arcs towards the tank. The majority of protesters in Syria are unarmed and have been met with violence by security forces

Daraa has become the epicentre of the protest movement, which kicked off in the town after authorities arrested a group of teenagers who scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall.

Speaking in the footage, activists said: 'The army forces are entering Daraa. They are shelling the city of Daraa.'

Witnesses also said security forces were opening fire in suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus.

There has been no indication of casualties and telephone lines in Daraa appeared to have been cut off.

Clampdown: Footage apparently shot by mobile phone shows tanks and armoured vehicle driving into Daraa this morning

Flashpoint: A blood-soaked protester runs for cover as heavy gunfire is heard in the southern Syrian city

A leading Syrian human rights campaigner said authorities have launched a war against the country's peaceful pro-democracy movement by attacking three cities.

'This is a savage war designed to annihilate Syria's democrats,' Suhair al-Atassi said in a statement.

'President Bashar al-Assad's intentions have been clear since he came out publicly saying he is "prepared for war" in his speech on March 30.

'I am at my home in Dummar suburb of Damascus. Come and arrest me'" she said.

 

Backlash: Hundreds of protesters gather in the Douma suburb of Damascus. More than 300 people have been killed in five weeks of violent anti-government protests

Gun fight: Soldiers take up positions on a street in Daraa

Syria has banned nearly all foreign media and restricted access to trouble spots since the uprising began - making it virtually impossible to get independent assessments of the situation on the ground.

The rising levels of violence have led to calls for a UN inquiry from watchdog group Human Rights Watch.

Dozens of opposition activists have also been detained since Saturday as authorities resorted to raids to quell the revolt.

The strategy appears to be aimed at unnerving the opposition's leadership and showing the state's ability to conduct sweeping arrests has not changed despite abolishing nearly 50-year-old emergency laws last week.

Casualties: An injured man lies on the floor in a hospital after being shot by security forces. More than 100 people have been killed over the weekend alone

 

Authoritarian: People carry the coffin of a protester in Douma, Damascus. Many people have been shot dead during funeral processions

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The raids were concentrated around the capital Damascus and the central city of Homs - hotbeds of demonstrations against Assad's authoritarian rule.

Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria, said: 'These people are not being arrested in a legal way. They are being kidnapped.'

Mr Qurabi claimed at least 20 people had been detained in Homs.

President Assad has blamed the unrest on a 'foreign conspiracy' and armed thugs trying to increase sectarian divides.

The state-run SANA news agency said 286 police officers have been injured since the protests began.

But two members of the provincial council in the southern region of Daraa today stepped down.

Their resignations came a day after two lawmakers and a religious leader also resigned in disgust over the killings.

Syria closed all its land borders with neighbouring Jordan today, with both Daraa and Nassib shut for traffic.

An official said the 'time is related to what appears to be a major security operation that is taking place right now'.

The Obama administration is considering 'targeted sanctions' against the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad in response to a violent crackdown on protesters, the White House announced today.

'The brutal violence used by the government of Syria against its people is completely deplorable,' White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said. 

'The United States is pursuing a range of possible policy options, including targeted sanctions, to respond to the crackdown and make clear that this behavior is unacceptable.'

A U.S. official said earlier that the measures under consideration included a freeze on assets and a ban on U.S. business dealings.   

VIOLENCE FLARES IN YEMEN AS CONCERNS GROW OVER REGIME CHANGE

At least two people were killed after Yemeni security forces opened fire today to block a massive protest march in Taiz.

Dozens of people were arrested and scores injured or overcome by tear gas after gunmen in civilian clothes fired on crowds of people marching near a palace belong to President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

It comes after uncertainty over a Gulf plan for President Saleh to step down within weeks and end a political standoff.

Jamil Abdullah, a protest organiser, said: 'There were thousands in a march who came from outside Taiz, but the police and army and gunmen in civilian clothes confronted them, opening fire with bullets and tear gas.'

Saleh has agreed to step down in exhange for immunity from prosecution for him, his family and aides. No formal deal has been signed.

He had already offered not to seek reelection when his term ended in 2013 and later vowed to stand down this year after organising elections.