Syria forces hold hundreds in Latakia sports stadium

Syrian troops raided houses in a Sunni district of the besieged port of Latakia on Wednesday, residents said, arresting hundreds of people and taking them to a stadium after a four-day tank assault to crush protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad forces attacked al-Raml al-Filistini, named after a refugee camp built in the 1950s, at the weekend, as part of a campaign to crush a five-month uprising, which has intensified against major urban centres of protest since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on August 1. (Reuters)