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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (2) Slideshow Video Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Obama says to weigh new steps to boost jobs 11 Jun 2011 UPDATE 1-Chilean ash cloud disrupts New Zealand-Australian flights 4:28am EDT UPDATE 2-Italy to bring forward deficit-cutting decree-sources 23 May 2011 IMF cyber attack aimed to steal insider information: expert 11:16am EDT Second day of fighting near Libya's capital | 9:24am EDT Discussed 120 Alabama governor signs nation’s toughest immigration law 86 Obama weighs new steps to boost jobs 75 U.S. debt default unimaginable, creditors say Watched Outrage over point blank teen killing in Pakistan Thu, Jun 9 2011 Bodypainters apply their skill Mon, Jul 19 2010 Lagarde: Debt would top agenda if she leads IMF Sat, Jun 11 2011 Syrian forces attack northern town, residents flee Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Syrian state TV says heavy clashes in northern town 6:29am EDT Analysis & Opinion A slow-burning revolution in Pakistan As Turkey votes, concern this time focuses on democracy, not theocracy Related Topics World » United Nations » Syria » Related Video Tight security for Syrian refugees Sat, Jun 11 2011 Syrian refugee numbers swelling A soldier flees Syria Syria protesters in gunships claim 1 / 15 Syrian refugees talk with Turkish soldier in a refugee camp in the Turkish border town of Boynuegin in Hatay province June 12, 2011. Syrian tanks and helicopters shelled and machinegunned a northern town on Sunday, residents said, in a drive to crush an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad that has led thousands of refugees to flee to Turkey. Credit: Reuters/Osman Orsal By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN | Sun Jun 12, 2011 11:22am EDT AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian tanks and helicopters stormed the town of Jisr al-Shughour on Sunday, residents said, and state television reported heavy clashes between army troops and gunmen opposed to President Bashar al-Assad. More than 5,000 Syrian refugees have crossed the border and a UNHCR spokesman said the Red Crescent was preparing a fourth camp with room for 2,500 more. Witnesses said some 10,000 Syrians were sheltering near the border. The assault on Jisr al-Shughour, astride a strategic road in northwest Syria, is the latest action by the armed forces to crush demands for political freedom and an end to oppression that pose an unprecedented challenge to Assad's 11-year rule. Residents said earlier that most of the town's 50,000 people had fled toward the Turkish border about 20 kms away and tanks and helicopters were shelling and machinegunning the town. Damascus has banned most foreign correspondents from the country, making it difficult to verify accounts of events. "Heavy confrontations are raging between army units and members of armed organizations taking up positions in the surroundings of Jisr al-Shughour and inside it," state television said. Army units defused bombs and explosive charges planted by gunmen on bridges and roads into the town, it said. "Two members of the armed organizations were killed, large numbers of them arrested, and lethal weapons in their possession were seized." State television said the forces uncovered mass graves of security men killed and buried by armed groups in Jisr al-Shughour and said their bodies bore marks of "atrocities." It did not give details. The government said last week that "armed gangs" had killed more than 120 security personnel in the town after large demonstrations there. Refugees and rights groups said the dead were mutinous soldiers, shot for refusing to fire on civilians. "When the massacre happened in Jisr al-Shughour the army split, or they started fighting each other and blamed it on us," a woman refugee, who refused to give her name, told Turkish news channel NTV. MOST RESIDENTS LEFT A senior Western diplomat in Damascus told Reuters: "The official version is improbable. Most people had left Jisr al-Shughour after seeing the regime's scorched earth policy, shelling and the heavy use of armor in the valley." "The refugee exodus into Turkey is continuing and the numbers are higher than those officially counted so far." Asked if there were clashes in the town Mustapha, a 39-year-old mason who fled early on Sunday, told Reuters "What clashes? The army is shelling the town from tanks. Everyone has been fleeing. "Even if we did have guns, what are they going to do in front of artillery? Syria is a tightly controlled dictatorship and all of a sudden the regime says Jisr al-Shughour is armed to the teeth. They are lying. They are punishing us for wanting freedom." Residents said the army unit was commanded by Assad's brother Maher and was copying the tactics used in other centers to crush protesters demanding an end to Assad's autocratic rule. The United States accused the Syrian government of creating a "humanitarian crisis" and called on it to halt its offensive and allow immediate access by the International Committee for the Red Cross to help refugees, detainees and the wounded. Turkey has provided camps for refugees and sent the wounded to hospitals, but restricted access to the refugees, saying this is to protect their privacy. Bassam, a tiler who fled to Turkey as troops approached the town, showed mobile phone camera footage of a dead man, between 18 and 25 years old, with a bullet wound in his leg, and a large exit wound in his stomach. He lay on a bloodied cloth. Another picture showed a young man who had been shot in the head. He said the two were killed just outside Jisr al-Shughour by troops under the command of Maher. "There are only a few people left. I escaped on my motorcycle through dirt tracks in the hills," he told Reuters. He said troops burned wheat crops in three villages near Jisr al-Shughour in a scorched-earth policy aimed at crushing the resistance of protesters in the area. Other refugees said troops killed or burned cows and sheep and burned crops on farmland around the village of Sarmaniya, south of Jisr al-Shughour. The state news agency said "armed terrorist groups" had burned land in Idlib province as part of a sabotage scheme. Human rights groups say security forces have killed more than 1,100 Syrian civilians in increasingly bloody efforts to suppress demonstrations calling for Assad's removal, political freedom and an end to corruption and poverty. The Syrian protests were inspired by uprisings against other entrenched autocrats in the Arab world. At the United Nations Russia and China snubbed Security Council talks called on Saturday to discuss a draft resolution condemning Syria's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, U.N. diplomats said. Largely Sunni Muslim Turkey had backed Syria's ruling hierarchy -- members of the minority Alawite sect -- but has been increasingly critical of Assad's use of force to quell the protests. Thousands of people were gathering on the Syrian side of the border, according to an activist helping coordinate the movement of refugees. "The border area has turned practically into a buffer zone," said Abu Fadi. "There are 7,000 to 10,000 people here now." (Additional reporting by Alexandra Hudson in Guvecci, Turkey; editing by Tim Pearce) World United Nations Syria Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. Comments (2) Biscayne wrote: The Syrian people are exhibiting a disregard for their lives that is indicative of extreme desperation. In its brutal response, the regime appears to be equally as desperate. This at a time when the U.N. and NATO are stretched to the limit and Russia and China are unwilling to act.It will become uglier and uglier. I am sure (ha.ha) that Mr. Cameron and Mr. Sarkozsy are up at this time after a sleepless night worrying about civilian deaths in Libya, reading the news on Reuters and wondering if they are in any way responsible for the Syrian mess. But of course they are not responsible, and I am sure that they are both appalled at the unfolding of events and regret that there is nothing that they can do about the situation. The massive propaganda effort that was launched to justify the intervention in Libya will have to be doubled now and the double-speak has to be ramped up, just to keep their little heads above water. But their heads will roll(politically speaking), because their people are now going to realize that when you debase a noble ideal ( saving innocent lives) by hypocritically using it to justify military action to promote narrow self-interests, then you create a situation where no one will care when that noble ideal is invoked again by you or anybody else. Morality in politics does matter. The Syrian President and both Cameron and Sarkozsy will soon learn that lesson. They will also learn that we are now living in the 21st. century and not the 19th. Jun 12, 2011 7:06am EDT -- Report as abuse tod wrote: This whole uprising thing is ridiculous. First off, peaceful demonstrations should focus on labour stikes, shutdowns or sitins to get message out, not guns. Government should allow approved and controlled demonstrations and only use water cannons, tear gas or stun grenades if necessary to disperse unruly demonstrators. The idea is to PREVENT LOSS OF LIFE. Unfortuately, both sides need to get a grip[ on reality and move towards negotiations that lead to reform. Jun 12, 2011 11:15am EDT -- Report as abuse See All Comments » Add Your Comment Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

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