Syrian troops rounded up hundreds of people in a sweep through villages near Jisr al-Shughour today, fleeing residents said, after President Bashar al-Assad's army retook the rebellious northwestern town.
Nearly 7,000 Syrians have fled the region around Jisr al-Shughour, seeking sanctuary in neighbouring Turkey, while thousands more are sheltering in rural areas just inside Syria, activists say.
Today's wave of arrests followed an assault by troops, tanks and helicopters to regain control of the town, one week after authorities said 120 security personnel were killed there in fighting they blamed on "armed groups".
Some residents said those killed were soldiers who had mutinied, refusing to shoot protesters and joining demonstrators calling for an end to Assad's rule.
The town of 50,000, just 20km south of the Turkish border, is the latest focus of a military crackdown on the protests that have swept Syria for nearly three months and continue despite the deaths of hundreds of civilians.
Refugees from Jisr al-Shughour said the military was combing villages to the east of the town and arresting hundreds of men between the ages of 18 and 40, in a pattern seen in other military crackdowns since the unrest started in March.
Residents said the army unit that took the town was commanded by Mr Assad's brother Maher.
Syrian rights groups say 1,300 civilians have been killed since the start of the uprising. One group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says more than 300 soldiers and police have also been killed.
Syria has banned most foreign correspondents, making it difficult to verify accounts of events.
Thousands of people from Jisr al-Shughour, located on a vital road junction, had already fled to Turkey before yesterday's assault. Turkey has grown increasingly critical of Mr Assad and has now set up four camps to accommodate refugees.
In a sign of tension between Syria and Turkey, which had close trade and political ties before the crisis, supporters of Mr Assad protested outside Turkey's embassy in Damascus yesterday.
Turkey's Anatolian news agency said some people climbed the embassy walls and hung a Syrian flag, and Syrian security forces prevented some protesters from trying to lower the Turkish flag. A resident said the crowd then tore down tourist posters on the outside wall of the embassy.
France, with British support, has led efforts for the United Nations Security Council to condemn Mr Assad's repression of the protests, but Russia and China have suggested they may use their veto power to kill the resolution.
French foreign minister Alain Juppe has said Mr Assad had lost the legitimacy to rule Syria. The White House condemned the Syrian forces' latest violence in the "strongest possible terms" and said Mr Assad should step aside if he will not lead a democratic transition.
Mr Assad, who inherited power when his father died in 2000, has offered some moves aimed at appeasing protesters, lifting a 48-year state of emergency and promising a national dialogue - steps which have been dismissed by many activists.
Reuters