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Syrian protests turn deadly

Anti-government protesters hold the Syrian flags and candles at Shuhada or (Martyrs) Square in Swaeda in the southern part of Syria on March 28, 2011. The demonstration was for the victims who were apparently killed by the security forces in Daraa and other cities along in the country. UPI/Ali Bitar
Anti-government protesters hold the Syrian flags and candles at Shuhada or (Martyrs) Square in Swaeda in the southern part of Syria on March 28, 2011. The demonstration was for the victims who were apparently killed by the security forces in Daraa and other cities along in the country. UPI/Ali Bitar | License Photo

BANIYAS, Syria, April 11 (UPI) -- Syrian President Bashar Assad employed soldiers and tanks for the first time against anti-government demonstrators Sunday, human rights activists said.

The Washington Post reported four people were killed as the military moved to seal off the port city of Baniyas. Human rights workers said security forces and rooftop snipers fired on hundreds of demonstrators outside the al-Rahman mosque, the newspaper said.

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Others reported that the military had ringed the city.

"I spoke to someone telling me he saw tanks going to the city," Nadim Houry, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division, told the Post.

The Syrian Arab News Agency reported an official source said nine military troops, including two officers, had been killed when ambushed by the armed members of the opposition as they traveled on the Lattakia-Tartous highway at Baiyas. Dozens more had been wounded, SANA said.

The source said the opposition fighters shot at an ambulance, injuring its driver and nurses.

The Post said at least 37 demonstrators have been killed in protests since late last week. Estimates of the number killed since the protests began March 16 have varied from 130 to 200.

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