Assad Sends Envoy To Turkey

The Daily Telegraph reports:

Syrian troops have extended operations to tighten their stranglehold on towns and villages that joined an uprising against the regime.

Additional forces were sent as an envoy of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was to hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Human rights activists said security forces were sweeping through villages and towns near the flashpoint town of Jisr al-Shughour, in Idlib province, forcing refugees to flee across the border with Turkey.

"Soldiers are heading to Maaret al-Numan. They are coming from the cities of Aleppo and Hama," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Witnesses said security forces were preventing residents from leaving Idlib province, and reported they were shooting at people who attempted to elude military checkpoints.

Protesters have described the operation in the northern mountains as a scorched-earth campaign, while Syrian soldiers who deserted to Turkey have alleged they were forced to commit atrocities there.