Artillery used against Syrian protest town

Syrian troops bombarded a town in the central province of Homs with artillery yesterday, causing several casualties a day after nine people were killed in a continuing crackdown in the country’s turbulent heartland, activists said.

The Local Co-ordination Committees in Syria, which help organise and document protests, said the town of Tabliseh was hit yesterday morning and snipers were deployed on roofs of mosques.

Syrian troops, backed by tanks, have been conducting operations in Tabliseh and the nearby town of Rastan Teir Maaleh since Sunday.

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Syria’s state-run news agency said four soldiers were killed and 14 wounded in Tabliseh.

The latest attack using military forces underscored President Bashar Assad’s determination to crush the two-month-old revolt.

The uprising, which began in mid-March, is posing the most serious challenge to the Assad family’s 40-year rule.

What began as a disparate movement demanding reforms has erupted into an uprising calling for Assad to go.

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Human rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed in the crackdown.

Rights activist Mustafa Osso said troops entered several towns in Homs province and detained hundreds of people. Rastan and Tabliseh had been subjected to heavy machine gun fire.