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    June 17, 2011

World Condemnations Grow as Syrian Forces Assault Continues

   VOA News

   Syrian security forces are continuing their assault on cities and
   villages in the country's restive northwest, as world leaders are
   condemning the crackdown.
   The Syrian news agency Sana and rights activists said Thursday that
   military units equipped with dozens of tanks and armored personnel
   carriers deployed near Khan Sheikhoun, circled Maarat al-Numaan and
   attacked two more villages, Shughur al-Kadima and Janudiyeh.
   Hundreds of Syrians fled their homes to escape across the border into
   Turkey. Some said Syrian troops fired random shells at the villages and
   ransacked their homes.
   The latest violence is part of the weeks-long assault by troops loyal
   to President Bashar al-Assad on anti-government protesters seeking to
   end his 11-year reign. More than 1,300 civilians and 340 government
   troops have been killed since mid-March, but al-Assad has continued the
   crackdown over the increasingly vocal objections of world leaders.
   On Thursday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the
   Syrian president to "stop killing people" and negotiate with the
   protesters "before it's too late."
   U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the government
   crackdown "revolting" and "barbaric." She said the U.S. has been
   increasing its contacts with Syrians inside and outside of the country
   who are seeking change.
   Activists told the Associated Press that Syrian security forces have
   been randomly rounding up males over age 16. They told AP the
   detentions were concentrated in and around the major towns of Jisr
   al-Shughour - which elite forces occupied Sunday - and Maaret
   al-Numaan, where the army has massed troops for days in apparent
   preparation for a fresh operation.
   In Ankara, Turkish officials, faced with caring for more than 8,900
   Syrian refugees staying in makeshift tents, pressed an Assad envoy,
   Hassan Turkmani, to end the military campaign against the protesters.
   After a Thursday meeting with the Syrian envoy, Turkish Foreign
   Minister Ahmed Davutoglu said his country is extending assistance to
   about 10,000 people who have massed along the Syrian side of the
   border.
   Also Thursday, Syrian state television said telecom tycoon Rami
   Makhlouf, a cousin of the president, will quit his businesses and
   allocate profits to charity. Makhlouf controls several companies,
   including Syria's largest mobile phone operator, duty free shops, an
   airline and shares in at least one bank.
   He is widely despised by government opponents for allegedly exploiting
   his relationship with Mr. Assad to build his commercial empire and
   cited in their calls for an end to official corruption.
   Makhlouf is facing both European Union and U.S. sanctions.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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References

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