Syrian tanks storm Sunni districts

Syrian army units stormed into the city of Banias with tanks overnight, attacking Sunni districts that had defied President Bashar Assad's autocratic rule, a human rights campaigner said on Saturday.

At least six civilians were killed in the raid, a human rights group said Saturday evening.

Protest on Friday

The army units entered the coastal city, a majority of whose residents are Sunni Muslims, from three directions, advancing into Sunni districts but not Alawite neighborhoods, said the campaigner. Most communications with Banias have been cut but the campaigner was able to contact some residents, he said.

"Residents are reporting the sound of heavy gunfire and seeing Syrian navy boats off the Banias coast. Sunni and mixed neighborhoods are totally besieged now," said the rights campaigner, who did not want to be identified.

Protest in city of Homs

Al-Jazeera network reported on Saturday that electricity and phone lines were cut. According to the report, protesters resisted the tanks by forming human chains.

Military forces also encircled the nearby town of Baida, while an army boat patrolled offshore, eyewitness told al-Jazeera.

A protest leader said earlier this week that Syrian forces and gunmen loyal to Assad had moved on Tuesday into areas of central Banias that had been under the control of pro-democracy demonstrators for weeks.

The coastal city has witnessed some of the most persistent demonstrations since an uprising erupted in the southern city of Deraa seven weeks ago demanding political freedom and an end to corruption.

UN mulling sanctions 

On Friday, Syrian security forces have opened fire on thousands demanding regime change during the latest nationwide protests, killing more than 30 people.

The UN said it is sending a team into Syria to investigate and the European Union is expected to place sanctions on Syrian officials next week.

The United States, reacting to the killing of protesters by Syrian security forces on Friday, threatened to take new steps against the Syrian government unless it stopped killing and harassing its people.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the US was pressing the Syrian government to cease "violence against innocent citizens who are simply demonstrating and trying to state their aspirations for a more democratic future."

"The United States believes that Syria's deplorable actions toward its people warrant a strong international response," White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.

"Absent significant change in the Syrian government's current approach, including an end to the government's killing of protesters ... the United States and its international partners will take additional steps to make clear our strong opposition to the Syrian government's treatment of its people," he added.

The United States imposed sanctions of its own last week against some figures in the Syrian government.

AFP contributed to the story

• Follow Ynetnews on Facebook