Syrian troops take over eastern city

[August 10, 2011]  HAMA, Syria (AP) -- Syrian troops seized control of the eastern flashpoint city of Deir el-Zour Wednesday following intense shelling and gunfire, an activist said, as the international community intensified its pressure on the country's president to end the deadly crackdown.

The activist in Deir el-Zour said the city's eastern Mattar Qadim neighborhood was the last to fall on Wednesday. The city has been under attack by President Bashar Assad's forces for four days.

"They are shooting anything that moves," the activist said, speaking to The Associated Press by telephone on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. "The situation is terrible. Bakeries and pharmacies are closed, while food and baby formula are scarce."

The crackdown was a continuation of a troubling pattern in the country, with Syrian forces using heavy force to try to quell an uprising that has dragged on for five months. Syrian officials blame the unrest on what they say are terrorists and criminal gangs, while protesters say they are unarmed and simply looking for reforms.

Rights groups say about 1,700 people have been killed since March, and an aggressive new military campaign that began with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan a week ago has killed several hundred. Attacks on flashpoint cities killed more than 20 people on Tuesday.

With the situation growing bleaker in the country, the international community has stepped up pressure on Assad.

Envoys from India, Brazil and South Africa due in Damascus on Wednesday and are expected to hold talks with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem later in the day.

On Tuesday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged Assad to end the killings, while U.S. officials said the Obama administration is preparing to explicitly demand his departure.

Assad has largely shrugged off the pressure.

Instead, Syria's state-run news agency said he told Davutoglu the government will relentlessly fight "terrorist groups" -- a term Syrian authorities often use for government opponents even though most of those killed are unarmed, peaceful protesters.

Early Wednesday, Syrian troops launched another operation in three suburbs of the capital Damascus as well as the northwestern village of Sarmin where a woman was killed and three people wounded, said the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The information ministry organized a trip on Wednesday to the central city of Hama, which had seen some of the most pronounced demonstrations against Assad's autocratic rule. The city has also been hit by some of the fiercest responses by the government.

An AP reporter on the government-organized tour saw cement and metal barriers, as well as Syrian soldiers clearing the barricades. Piles of uncollected garbage sat unattended on streets largely deserted except for the occasional taxi.

At the southern entrance of the city, a two-story police station was totally burnt. Authorities said it was attacked by armed men gunmen on July 31 and all the policemen inside were killed.

Later about 50 armored personnel carriers placed on flatbed trucks were seen leaving the city.

"We have finished a delicate operation in which we eradicated terrorists hideouts," an army officer told reporters as the troops left Hama. "They are going back to their barracks."

[Associated Press; By ALBERT AJI and BASSEM MROUE]

Mroue reported from Beirut, Lebanon.

Bassem Mroue can be reached at http://twitter.com/bmroue.

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