Thousands of Syrian troops backed by tanks stormed the flashpoint town of Daraa on Monday killing at least 25 people, witnesses said, as a leading rights activist accused Damascus of opting for a “military solution” to crush dissent.
Troops also launched assaults on the Damascus suburbs of Douma and Al Maadamiyeh, witnesses said, as the head of the UN human rights agency slammed what she called the security forces’ disregard for human life.
A military official later said that troops entered Syria’s flashpoint southern town of Daraa on Monday at the request of citizens to hunt “extremist terrorist groups”. “In response to calls for help from the inhabitants of Daraa, who urged the armed forces to intervene and the killings and destruction by extremist terrorist groups, units entered Daraa this morning to restore calm and security,” state television quoted a military official as saying.
“The army is now pursuing these groups with the help of the security forces and has arrested several of them and seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition,” a statement said.
