Syrian troops seal restive northern town (AP)

BEIRUT – Syrian tanks sealed a restive northern city Saturday, and activists said they expected an all-out government assault on the region near the Turkish border.

President Bashar Assad has sent heavy armor, including tanks, and thousands of troops to the region as he struggles to crush a nearly three-month uprising against his family's 40-year rule. Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people have died in the government crackdown.

The military operation in the mostly deserted town of Jisr al-Shughour is in response to what the government claims were attacks by "armed groups" that killed more than 120 officers and security personnel. Refugees reaching Turkey said the chaos erupted as government forces and police mutinied and joined the local population against Assad forces.

Syrian state television on Saturday said army units arrested several leaders of the alleged armed groups in the area of Jisr al-Shughour, a city of about 40,000. About 80 percent of the population has fled, with more than 4,000 Syrians taking sanctuary across the Turkish frontier.

Syrian troops backed by dozens of tanks have been operating in the area for several days, securing towns and villages on their way to Jisr al-Shughour.

Undaunted by the continuing and brutal crackdown, protests extended to every major city Friday, and activists said 36 people were killed when security forces opened fire during demonstrations across the country. The dead included 20 from the northern Idlib province, home to Jisr al-Shughour.

Twenty-five miles (40 kilometers) to the southeast in the town of Maaret al-Numan, thousands of protesters overwhelmed security forces and torched the courthouse and police station. The army responded with tank shells, a Syrian opposition figure told The Associated Press by telephone, speaking on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.

Syrian TV appeared to confirm at least part of the report, saying gunmen opened fire on police stations, causing casualties among security officials.

Backed by helicopters and tanks, the troops responsible for most of Friday's violence were believed to be from an elite division commanded by Assad's younger brother, Maher. The decision to mobilize his unit against the most serious threats to the Assad regime could be a sign of concern about the loyalty of regular conscripts.

Syria's brutal crackdown has angered the leader of neighboring Turkey, who accused the Assad regime of "savagery."

A Turkish official at Altinozu on the Turkish side of the border said capacity was near full at the camp there and newcomers would be taken to a third camp at Boynuyogun. Workers on Saturday were putting the final touches to the camp there, welding fences around the camp and laying power lines.

"We don't expect the inflow to end rapidly. The news we are hearing is that there are more people waiting to get in on the other side," said UNHCR spokesman Metin Corabatir.

In an interview with Turkey's NTV television late Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would discuss events in Syria with Assad "in a very different way" after Turkey's general elections on Sunday. Erdogan has hardened his tone against the Syrian regime, accusing Maher on Thursday of "chasing after savagery."

Turkey has vowed to keep it's border open to fleeing refugees.

Confirming information out of Syria is difficult. Communications are cut in areas where the uprising is strongest. Syrians who speak openly face retribution from the regime, and foreign journalists have been expelled.

___

AP writer Selcan Hacaoglu contributed to this report from Boynuyogun Village, Turkey.

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Tanks push deeper into restive Syrian area (Reuters)

AMMAN (Reuters) – At least 15 Syrian tanks pushed overnight into a rural area near the Lebanese border, where security forces have concentrated their latest crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrations, human rights activists said.

The activists, who were in contact with residents, said the tanks deployed around Arida, near the Jisr al-Qomar border crossing point with northern Lebanon. Witnesses on the Lebanese side of the border told Reuters they could hear the sound of gunfire throughout the night.

Activists said Syrian troops and gunmen had entered the border town of Tel Kelakh Saturday after protests erupted against President Bashar al-Assad's autocratic rule, prompting dozens of families to flee into Lebanon.

An activists' protest group said at least seven Syrian civilians were killed Sunday when troops shelled the town and sniper fire killed another civilian Monday, raising the death toll in the army's assault since Saturday to 12.

The official Syrian state news agency said five soldiers were killed in confrontations with armed groups in Tel Kalakh.

One resident said there was intermittent shelling and machine gun fire with heavy bursts on Tel Kelakh Monday, but the army appeared not to have advanced beyond the town's outskirts.

"Tel Kelakh is a ghost town. There are no doctors. Pharmacies are shut. Snipers are on the roof of the main hospital. Phones, water and electricity are cut," Mohammad al-Dandashi told Reuters from the town through satellite phone.

A few families from another border village called Hilat streamed into Lebanon Monday as did two wounded civilians from Tel Kelakh who were seeking medical care in Lebanon, some family members said.

LEBANESE ARMY REINFORCES BORDER

Syrian soldiers and police have been trying to quell demonstrations across the country calling for Assad's overthrow for the last two months. They have tended to crack down on a flashpoint area for a few days, with tank shells, gunfire, and mass arrests, subduing it and then focusing on another area.

Troops backed by armor have now deployed in or around towns and villages across the southern Hauran plain, the central province of Homs and areas near the coast. The security grip has been also tightened in Damascus and its suburbs.

The Lebanese army said it had sent reinforcements to the border, set up checkpoints and started intensive patrols to prevent "infiltration activities on both sides."

Authorities have blamed most of the violence in the country on armed groups backed by Islamists and outside powers whom they say killed more than 120 members of the security forces.

Syrian and international rights groups say Syrian forces have killed at least 700 civilians.

International media organizations are largely banned from Syria, making it difficult to verify accounts.

Assad, who trained as an ophthalmologist, has tried a mixture of reform and repression to stem protests against his autocratic 11-year rule, which broke out in the southern city of Deraa, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world.

Authorities said Assad intends to launch national dialogue talks, a gesture rejected by opposition leaders and the main activists' protest group who say first security forces must stop shooting protesters and political prisoners must be freed.

(Additional reporting by Nazih Siddiq in Wadi Khaled, Lebanon; Editing by Peter Graff)

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Clashes erupt in restive Syrian city

Released by the Syrian Arab News Agency on Sunday, this photo shows a funeral procession for a Syrian police officer.NEW: Syrian government says armed groups killed six security personnelA 12-year-old boy was killed, an activist saidProtests in Syria have raged since mid-MarchAmnesty says security forces have killed hundreds

(CNN) -- A 12-year-old boy was killed on Sunday when Syrian soldiers fired at a crowd in the city of Homs, according to Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Abdul-Rahman, who is not in Syria but is in contact with activists and protesters there, said several people were killed and wounded.

The Syrian government, meanwhile, reported the deaths of three soldiers and three security officers during clashes with "armed terrorist groups" in the Daraa, Homs and Banias regions.

It said "terrorists" were killed and wounded, scores of them were arrested, and weaponry was confiscated, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.

Syrian army storms coastal city

Protests have raged for weeks across Syria, one of several outpourings in the Arab world by demonstrators demanding political freedom.

Homs has been one of the cities where security forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime have clashed with peaceful protesters. The regime has said many of its security forces have died in violence it attributes to armed groups.

The fighting continued again on Sunday when residents attempted to stop troops from entering two neighborhoods there and the soldiers opened fire, Abdul-Rahman said.

The violence follows a day of mourning in Homs when thousands took to the streets in funeral processions for seven protesters killed there during the countrywide demonstrations on Friday.

Security forces and army units were present along Homs' main thoroughfares and city gates but did not interfere in the funeral procession, according to a witness who did not want to be identified for security reasons.

After the funerals, Homs was deserted with shops shuttered and people too frightened to leave their homes.

Demonstrations have broken out across provinces and cities in Syria since mid-March, with security forces relying heavily on the army and the regime's guard to disperse demonstrations.

CNN has not been granted access into Syria and is unable to independently verify witness accounts.

But CNN has spoken with witnesses, some of whom have posted homemade videos and reported what they see via social networking sites.

Amnesty International said Friday that more than 540 people have been killed by Syrian security forces and that many activists in pro-reform protests "have been forced into hiding after receiving threats from Syrian authorities."

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