DAMASCUS, Syria, June 16 (UPI) -- Syrian tanks and soldiers surrounded Abu Kamal, a remote town near the Iraqi border, seeking to crush the anti-government protests, locals reported.
Residents and activists told the daily newspaper The National Thursday military forces were deployed in the town on the eastern edge of Deir Ezzor province in the country's tribal heartland. They raised fears the military presence could escalate tensions.
A Syrian analyst from one of the tribes in the area told the newspaper: "Deir Ezzor is hot with protests. The province is boiling away with anti-regime sentiment. It's a delicate situation and it could turn bad very quickly."
"It's hard for the army to carry out operations there because it's very remote, and the tribes have the border with Iraq which they are used to crossing illegally and they can bring in weapons that way too if they want," an activist told the daily. "The government realizes it has to tread carefully."
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