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By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY and DIAA HADID, Associated Press


      BEIRUT (AP) - In a terrifying escalation of Syria's crackdown on
dissent, thousands of soldiers backed by tanks poured Monday into
the city where the uprising began, opening fire indiscriminately on
civilians and killing at least 11 people, witnesses said.
Knife-wielding security agents did house-to-house sweeps in what
activists called a campaign to intimidate protesters.


      One witness said large numbers of troops arrived the southern
city of Daraa in busloads before dawn. Tanks later moved in as
electricity, water and mobile phone service was cut.


      "They have snipers firing on everybody who is moving," said a
witness who spoke to The Associated Press by telephone, asking that
his name not be used out of fear for his own safety. "They aren't
discriminating. There are snipers on the mosque. They are firing at
everybody."


      An eyewitness counted 11 corpses, with another 14 lying in the
streets, apparently dead or gravely injured.


      All witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of
reprisals. Syria has banned nearly all foreign media and restricted
access to trouble spots since the uprising began, making it nearly
impossible to get independent assessments.

      The offensive into Daraa appeared to be part of new strategy for
pre-emptive strikes against the opposition to President Bashar
Assad's regime rather than reacting to marches and protests. Other
crackdowns and sweeping arrests were reported on the outskirts of
Damascus and the coastal town of Jableh.

      But the assault on Daraa - an impoverished city on the Jordanian
border - was by far the biggest in scope and firepower. Tanks fired
volleys into the air and suspected opposition supporters were
dragged from their homes along with their families, witnesses said.


      More than 300 people have been killed across the country since
the uprising began five weeks ago. But the relentless crackdowns
have only served to embolden protesters, who started with calls for
modest reforms but are now increasingly demanding Assad's downfall.


      "We need international intervention. We need countries to help
us," shouted a witness in Daraa.


      Another witness said people were using mosque loudspeakers in
Daraa to summon doctors to help the wounded as busloads of security
forces and troops conducted house-to-house searches, causing panic
in the streets.


      "They are entering houses, they are searching the houses," he
said. "They are carrying knives and guns."


      The sweep into Daraa, a city of about 300,000 people, sought to
hit the opposition movement at one of its pillars. The protests
against Assad began there in March and several political figures
from the area have stepped down to protest the violence in
embarrassing defections from the regime.

      The spark for the uprising was the arrest of some teenagers who
scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall in Daraa.


      In Geneva, the U.N. human rights chief, Navi Pillay, said Syria
has turned its back on international calls to "stop killing its
own people."


      "Instead, the government's response has been erratic, with
paper reforms followed by violent crackdowns on protesters ... The
killings must stop immediately," Pillay said.
      

Gallery

In a terrifying escalation of Syria's crackdown on
dissent, thousands of soldiers backed by tanks poured Monday into
the city where the uprising began, opening fire indiscriminately on
civilians and killing at least 11 people, witnesses said.

Syria uses army to crush revolt; at least 11 dead

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