Assad Keeps Up Crackdown

Reuters reports:

Syria said on Thursday army units have begun to leave Deraa, the heart of an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, but residents described a city still under siege.

Soldiers also raided homes across the country as President Bashar al-Assad grappled with the most serious challenge of his 11-year authoritarian rule.

Assad ordered the army to enter Deraa 10 days ago. The city is the place where demonstrations calling for more freedoms and later for his overthrow started in March.

Activists and residents said soldiers backed by tanks had shelled and machine-gunned the city's old quarter and rounded up people in mass arrests.

State news agency SANA quoted an official military source as saying the army had completed its mission, arresting elements of "terrorist" groups and restoring security, peace and stability.

Two witnesses who were heading out of Deraa told Reuters that around 30 tanks on armored carriers had left the city heading north, but that army units backed with armor remained deployed at several entrances.

Residents in Deraa's Mahatta area said at least six tanks were deployed near government installations and public squares and snipers were poised atop a building near Tishrin Square.

They also said security forces had allowed people to move freely until 2 p.m. (7 a.m. EDT) when a curfew was imposed.

"There are security barriers every 100 meters (yards). The security forces have not left yet. They are still spread everywhere in the Balad," a resident who called himself Abu Jasem said.

A resident of a nearby village, Abu Jamal, said troops had started rounding up detainees in areas surrounding Deraa.

Pictures of the 45-year-old president have reappeared on business and shop windows, resident said. Infuriated by the crackdown, enraged protesters in Deraa had hauled down a statue of Assad's father, Hafez, on March 24.

Rights groups say at least 560 civilians have been killed since the protests erupted in Deraa on March 18, before spreading to other centers. Officials, who blame armed groups for the violence, give a much lower death toll and say half those killed have been security forces.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday he had urged Assad in a phone call to take decisive reform measures "before it was too late."

"I raised also the possible violation of human rights, and that human rights should be fully protected of those people, peaceful demonstrators," Ban said.