Protest in Syria (Archives)
Photo: AFP
Syria says rebel sniper fire kills soldier
Situation in Syria still volatile as State-run news agency reports military patrol comes under insurgents fire
Snipers fired on a Syrian military patrol Thursday in a major port city where the government has waged a crackdown on spreading protests against President Bashar Assad's autocratic regime, according to the state news agency. One soldier was killed and another was wounded, it said.
The news report had few other details, and because of severe restrictions on independent journalists it was not possible to verify the information. Syria's government and its state-run media have sought to cast the unrest as a foreign conspiracy perpetrated by armed gangs targeting security forces and civilians. Reform activists, however, say their movement is peaceful.
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On Thursday, Syrian troops eased road closures and other restrictions that had stopped movement around the port city of Banias, where the reported sniper attack on soldiers took place.
Soldiers around Banias allowed people to enter and leave the city after checking their identity cards, residents said. In the early hours of Thursday, dozens of detainees from the area were released and another group was expected to be set free soon, activists said.
The activists and residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals.
Security forces and pro-government gunmen had cracked down on crowds of protesters in Banias over the past several days.
Also Thursday, a Syrian official said a delegation from a southern province at the epicenter of the mass protests against the regime met with President Assad.
The official said the meeting shows there are efforts to calm the situation in Daraa, an impoverished province where the uprising started last month. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Assad has made a series of gestures that have so far failed to placate protesters demanding political freedoms and an end to a decades-old state of emergency.
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