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DAMASCUS: Syrian troops dug into the outskirts of an eastern border town on Monday to press a crackdown on dissent, activists said, as EU foreign ministers told President Bashar al-Assad to reform or step down.
After a bloody weekend during which dozens of civilians clamouring for change were shot dead by security forces, most of them in the central city of Homs, the European Union threatened to slap more sanctions on Damascus.
Activists warned that the fighting in Homs, where more than 30 people were killed in fierce clashes between Christians, Sunni Muslims and Alawites from Assad's minority community, could spark a new and dangerous turning point in more than four months of pro-democracy protests.
“It is a dangerous signal of the break-up of Syrian society,” Abdel Karim Rihawi, who heads the Syrian League for the Defence of Human Rights, said.
“There is danger of a division of society that really threatens national unity,” he told AFP by telephone.
Human rights activist Rami Abdel Rahman said the fighting broke out after three regime supporters kidnapped last week were killed and their dismembered bodies returned to their relatives on Saturday.
“These clashes are a dangerous development that undermines the revolution and serves the interests of its enemies who want it to turn into a civil war,”said Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“The two sides started out beating each other with sticks, but then firearms were used,” he added. Rihawi said shops were torched across the city and troops moved into Homs on Sunday to restore order.
“Today (Monday) Homs is calm. The four tanks and the troop carrier which entered on Sunday have pulled out,” he said.
Meanwhile Syrian troops manned the outskirts of Al-Bukamal, on the border with Iraq, on Monday, a day after being dropped into the area by helicopter, Rihawi said.
The pro-government newspaper Al-Watan reported that residents had pleaded for government intervention against “armed groups” who they said were sowing havoc in the town.
“Tension remains high in Al-Bukamal,” where armed gangs ransacked public property and “committed acts of terrorism,” forcing residents to flee to safety in neighbouring villages, the paper said.
“Residents of Al-Bukamal have launched pleas for help asking for a quick intervention by the government to calm the situation,” the paper added.
Al-Watan described Al-Bukamal as a border town “which has become a passage for weapons and money smuggling.”
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory at least one civilian was killed in Al-Bukamal on Saturday when security forces opened fire to break up an anti-regime demonstration.
On Sunday, Al-Watan warned that the situation in Al-Bukamal was “explosive”and that “the army is preparing to intervene” in the town.
“The authorities fear an armed revolt in this border town where (insurgents) can easily find logistical and political support,” it said.
The official SANA news agency spoke of “armed terrorist gangs who stormed a government building and seized the weapons stored there,” adding that three security personnel were killed and two kidnapped.
Since the protests erupted, the government has consistently blamed the unrest on foreign interference and “armed groups” seeking to “sow chaos.”
On Sunday, security forces swept into the town of Zabadani near the Lebanon border, Rihawi said.
“They searched houses and arrested more than 50 people,” he said. In Brussels, foreign ministers adopted a declaration warning that as long as the crackdown on protests continues, “the EU will pursue and carry forward its current policy, including through sanctions targeted against those responsible for or associated with the violent repression.”
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the situation “is deteriorating.””It is really up to the Syrian people but I believe he should reform or step aside,” he said.
Dutch European affairs minister Ben Knapen echoed the call. “President Assad must stop the repression now and start real democratic reforms or relinquish power.”
Activists say the Syrian government's crackdown has left more than 1,400 civilians dead. Thousands more have been jailed.
