Syrian dictator’s attacks on protesters escalate

 Bodies lying on the streets of Deraa as residents come under artillery and sniper fire, according to witnesses

Barry Neild and agencies, The Guardian, April 26, 2011

A Syrian woman, who has relatives in Deraa, on the Jordanian side of the border with Syria which has been closed. Photograph: Majed Jaber/Reuters

Fresh gunfire was reported in the Syrian city of Deraa, which has been at the centre of three weeks of unrest, as the government pushed on with a crackdown against pro-democracy protesters, despite growing international condemnation.

Bodies were left lying on the streets of Deraa on Tuesday as residents sought shelter from artillery and sniper fire, witnesses said, a day after tanks rolled into the city, marking a dramatic escalation in efforts to crush the uprising.

A resident told the Associated Press that families had been unable to recover the bodies of protesters killed by gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

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