At least six people were killed Saturday in the coastal city of Banias (northwest), a hotbed of protest in Syria, invested at dawn by the army and where gunfire rang out at the end of the day .
Four women demanding the release of detainees were killed in the afternoon by the security forces, according to a militant and two people were in the late afternoon, according to a report given by the Syrian Observatory of Human Man who was unable to specify the origin of fire.
Heavy gunfire were heard in four districts of the city, as an activist for human rights and a witness.The clashes took place near the Corniche, at the southern entrance, the entrance to the souk and the bridges Marqb and Ras el-Nabe, the sources said.
Security forces fired on a procession of women
"There were two killed and several wounded by gunfire, but we do not know who are the perpetrators," he told AFP an official of the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.
According to the activist and the witness, the army "safe" neighborhoods, one after the other, and the security services then entered it, making dozens of arrests. The witness said snipers were deployed on buildings.Earlier, four women who demonstrated at the entrance to the city demanding the release of detainees were killed by members of security forces, told AFP an activist.
He said the security forces asked 150 women gathered on the highway between Banias Latakia to leave. "When they refused to comply, they opened fire," he added.
According to activists, the tanks came at dawn to Banias, a town of 40,000 inhabitants on the shores of the Mediterranean, where communications and electricity were cut.Vessels patrolling off the army, facing the southern districts, and tanks surrounded the nearby village of Baida.
Calls for jihad were launched from the minarets of mosques and people took to the streets, witnesses said.
"Units of the army and security forces continued today with members of terrorist groups to Banias (northwest) and around Deraa (south) to restore security and stability," announced Meanwhile a military source.
Soldiers and police have "arrested wanted persons and laid hands on a quantity of weapons that these groups have used to attack the army and citizens," the army said.The regime accuses groups "criminals" or "terrorists" being responsible for violence in the country since mid-March.
