DAMASCUS: Syrian security forces backed by tanks killed at least four civilians as they moved to crush democracy protests in a central town and the flashpoint eastern city of Deir Ezzor on Sunday, an activist said.
The crackdown came only hours after the government vowed to hold "free" elections by the year’s end, and following a personal appeal by UN chief Ban Ki-moon to President Bashar Al-Assad to halt the bloodshed.
"About 25 tanks and troop carriers entered Hula and carried out military operations that killed four," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights, told AFP in Nicosia by telephone.
The death toll from the assault on Hula, a town in the central province of Homs, was likely to rise as many people were seriously wounded in the assault, said Abdel Rahman.
Another two people died in the northwestern city of Idlib from gunshot wounds they suffered when security forces fired on protesters during massive protests late on Saturday, he said.
Hundreds of tanks and armoured cars have been deployed in Deir Ezzor, he said, adding that many residents had fled in fear of the assault on the city, the largest in eastern Syria with more than half a million people.
"Shelling has been heard in several areas" of Deir Ezzor, said Abdel Rahman, adding later that a sweeping campaign of arrests followed with "dozens" of people being taken into custody.
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, which has been organizing democracy protests on the ground, said the army had entered nine areas of Deir Ezzor, which was rocked by "very strong explosions."
Syria’s government has sought to crush the democracy movement with brutal force, leaving at least 2,038 people dead, including 389 members of the security forces, according to the Britain-based Observatory.
On Saturday, security forces in Damascus arrested prominent opposition figure and former political prisoner Walid Al-Bunni and his two sons, said Abdel Rahman.
The assaults on Hula and Deir Ezzor came after Ban finally managed to reach Assad who had been refusing to take his phone calls, urging the Syrian president to immediately end the military campaign.
"In a phone conversation with President Assad of Syria today, the secretary general expressed his strong concern and that of the international community at the mounting violence and death toll in Syria over the past days," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said late Saturday.
Ban "reflected to the Syrian president the clear message sent by the Security Council and urged the president to stop the use of military force against civilians immediately," Nesirky said.
Ban’s call followed a pledge by the US, French and German leaders to consider new steps to punish Syria after security forces killed more than 30 people on the first Friday of Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting.
Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Saturday that elections to a new parliament would be held by the end of 2011, as he met with foreign ambassadors posted to Damascus.
"Syria will hold free and transparent elections that will give birth to a parliament representing the aspirations of the Syrian people," Muallem said.
The foreign minister stressed "the commitment of the Syrian leadership to the continued reform process and implementation of measures announced by President Assad."
The embattled president issued a decree on Thursday allowing opposition political parties.
In April, he ordered an end to five decades of draconian emergency rule and abolished the feared state security courts, while in June he said talks could lead to a new constitution and end his Baath party’s monopoly on power.
But the concessions have been largely dismissed by the opposition as too late and a ploy to appease protesters.
The Syrian protesters have been calling for greater freedoms since mid-March, inspired by Arab uprisings that ousted the autocratic leaders of Tunisia and Egypt at the start of the year.
Assad’s regime has become increasingly isolated, with allies like Turkey and Russia calling for an end to the bloody crackdown.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev spoke forcefully about the situation this week, calling on Assad to "carry out urgent reforms," warning otherwise "a sad fate awaits him and in the end we will have to take some decisions."
And Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is to visit Syria on Tuesday with the message that Ankara "has run out of patience" with the ongoing violence, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
