Syrian crackdown

Syrian tanks entered the country's third-largest city, Homs, on Sunday in the latest move of a campaign to crush anti-government demonstrations.

At least one person, a 12-year-old child, was killed according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as tanks and troops stormed the Sebaa, Bab Amro and Tal al-Sour districts of the city.

"The areas have been under total siege since yesterday. There is a total blackout on the numbers of dead and injured, telecommunications and electricity are repeatedly being cut in those districts," a statement from the human rights group said on Sunday.

According to Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the observatory, Syrian security forces are targeting specific individuals.

"They are conducting search operations in several areas," Rahman told the Reuters news agency. "The army has lists and is looking for people based on it."

Meanwhile, the Syrian military said six troops were killed as the army pursued "armed terrorist groups" in the cities of Homs, Banias and Daraa.

On Saturday, government forces moved in on the mostly Sunni Muslim coastal city of Banias in a bid to quell anti-government demonstrations. Activists said at least six people, including four women protesters just outside of the city, were killed.

The women were shot dead by plain clothed security forces while protesting the government siege of the city and demanding the release of people who had been arrested, according to Ammar Qurabi of the National Organization for Human Rights.

Human chain to halt troops

Rights activists said that groups of protesters formed a human chain in a desperate bid to halt the military siege of Banias when it began around dawn.

A human rights campaigner told the Reuters news agency that the tanks entered Sunni Muslim neighborhoods of Banias - a city of 50,000 - but not the Alawite districts. Syria's ruling President Bashar al-Assad and many members of his government are Alawites, a Shiite sect of Islam.

Communication had been largely severed in Banias as the military campaign spread throughout the city.

The Syrian military confirmed the operation was underway, saying they were rooting out terrorists.

"Army units and security forces today pursued members of terrorist groups in and around Banias and neighborhoods of Daraa to restore security and stability," a military official said.

"They arrested people and seized a quantity of weapons that these groups have used to attack the army and citizens and scare people," the official added.

International pressure mounts

The military operation in Banias came after 26 people were killed throughout Syria during a bloody government crackdown on protests Friday.

The United States, which has already imposed sanctions against Syria, threatened further punitive measures if the crackdown continued.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was "deeply troubled" by the Syrian government's ongoing "killing, arrest, and harassment of protesters, activists and journalists."

"We will continue to work both unilaterally and with our international partners to determine the most effective next steps if the Syrian government chooses not to abandon its current path," she said.

On Friday, the European Union imposed a weapons embargo against Syria as well as a travel ban and asset freezes targeting 13 government officials. President Assad is not one of those officials.

Human rights groups say over 600 people have been killed and 8,000 jailed or gone missing since the anti-government protests began seven weeks ago.

Author: Spencer Kimball, Richard Connor (AFP, Reuters, AP, dpa)
Editor: Kyle James