SYRIAN army deployed yesterday in the southern province of Daraa over local residents' demands that the military should meddle in to end the "killing, sabotage and intimidation practiced by extremist and terrorist groups," the official SANA news agency quoted an official source as saying.
The army units have been deployed in Daraa to restore calm, security and normal life and "are now chasing those groups with the participation of security forces and are able to arrest a number of them and seize large amounts of weapons and ammunition," said the source.
The confrontation has left many casualties from both sides, added the source.
Daraa has been the heartland of more than five weeks of protests in Syria. The government has made many overtures to blunt the protests and blamed the growing violence on armed gangs and foreign conspiracy to fan flames of sectarian strife in the country.
The army units have been deployed in Daraa to restore calm, security and normal life and "are now chasing those groups with the participation of security forces and are able to arrest a number of them and seize large amounts of weapons and ammunition," said the source.
The confrontation has left many casualties from both sides, added the source.
Daraa has been the heartland of more than five weeks of protests in Syria. The government has made many overtures to blunt the protests and blamed the growing violence on armed gangs and foreign conspiracy to fan flames of sectarian strife in the country.