Syrian forces take mountainous province; 11 killed

[June 30, 2011]  BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- A Syrian activist says the death toll has risen to 11 as army forces spread through a mountainous area near the Turkish border.

Syria-based human rights activist Mustafa Osso says the government appears to have consolidated its hold on Rameh and other villages in the Jabal al-Zawiya province Thursday after two days of heavy shelling.

Osso says most people were killed Wednesday and early Thursday. He says the army is trying to prevent Syrians from fleeing to Turkey.

Syrian activists say more than 1,400 people have been killed as President Bashar al-Assad tries to crush three months of nationwide protests.

The regime disputes that death toll and says "armed thugs" and foreign conspirators are behind the unrest.

[Associated Press]

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