Fierce fighting: Attacks leave 120 Syrian security men dead

Pro-democracy activists speak of a mutiny in the town of Jisr al-Shughour.

DAMASCUS:

At least 120 members of the Syrian security forces were killed on Monday in an ambush and gun battle in the north-western town of Jisr al-Shughour, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported.

Initial reports said 20 police were killed in an ambush by “armed gangs”. But officials later said dozens more had died in other incidents, including 82 in an attack on their headquarters.

If confirmed, it would be the deadliest day for the security forces since protests against President Bashar al Assad’s regime began in mid-March.

A witness, cited by the BBC, however, cast doubt on the claims. Activists who spoke to AFP in Cyprus disputed the official account, speaking instead of a mutiny in the town of Jisr al-Shughour, where security forces have been carrying out operations for three days.

“The armed groups are committing a real massacre. They have mutilated bodies and thrown others into the Assi river,” the state broadcaster said.

The interior minister warned the state will hit back, as Amnesty International called for UN action.

“The police and security agents are confronting hundreds of armed men. They have managed to liberate one district controlled by gunmen” in Jisrash Shugur, the channel said. It said residents of the town, 330 kilometres north of Damascus, had “pleaded for help and the rapid intervention of the army.”

However, two activists who spoke to AFP in Nicosia said the town was calm on Monday, and spoke of a mutiny at a local security headquarters, where shooting was heard the day before.





Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2011.