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    December 11, 2011

Defectors Fight Syrian Troops in South

   VOA News
   Anti-government protesters carry the coffin of Abdul Haleem Baqour
   during his funeral in Hula near Homs, Syria, December 10, 2011. Baqour
   was killed by shrapnel during shelling by the government army on Hula
   last week.
   Photo: Reuters/Handout
   Anti-government protesters carry the coffin of Abdul Haleem Baqour
   during his funeral in Hula near Homs, Syria, December 10, 2011. Baqour
   was killed by shrapnel during shelling by the government army on Hula
   last week.

   Army defectors in southern Syria battled loyalist forces backed by
   tanks Sunday in a major armed confrontation near the Jordanian border.
   Residents and activists said government troops mainly from Syria's 12th
   Armored Brigade stormed the southern town of Busra al-Harir overnight.
   The British-based [1]Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three
   military vehicles were burned in the clashes. The group said similar
   battles took place Sunday in several other parts of the south.
   Reuters quoted local residents as saying defectors had been hiding and
   attacking military supply lines from the area, provoking the government
   assault.
   The Observatory said separate clashes between government troops and
   deserters in the northwestern town of Kfar Takharim saw two civilians
   killed and two troop transport vehicles set ablaze.
   Meanwhile, several regions across Syria observed the opposition's call
   for a general strike Sunday, the first working day of the week.
   Rights groups said that in several towns, security forces attempted to
   open shops by force and carried out arrests, although business
   continued as usual in the capital, Damascus.
   The opposition called the nationwide strike in an attempt to bring down
   the regime through civil disobedience. The opposition Local
   Coordination Committee has urged citizens to hold sit-ins, close
   facilities and to refuse to work in the public sector.
   On Saturday, Syrian forces opened fire on protesters gathered at a
   funeral for a child, killing at least four people.
   Activists said the unrest in northwestern Idlib province was among
   several deadly incidents Saturday. They said three civilians were
   killed in the central Homs region after gunfire erupted near a security
   checkpoint. Witnesses say Syrian forces have increased their presence
   in the flashpoint region.
   Opposition activists say anti-government related unrest also left at
   least three people dead in other regions.
   Separately, the state-run SANA news agency says three security force
   members killed by "armed terrorists" in Homs were buried on Saturday.
   The government has blamed much of the country's unrest on gunmen and
   militants.
   Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been facing mounting international
   pressure to end a crackdown on dissent that the United Nations says has
   claimed more than 4,000 lives.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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References

   1. http://www.syriahr.com/
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   3. http://twitter.com/VOAMiddleEast
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