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    July 22, 2011

Syria Deploys Forces in Damascus Ahead of Planned Protests

   VOA News
   Syrian protesters hold a Syrian flag during a demonstration against
   Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in front of the Syrian embassy in
   Amman. The words on the flag read: "God, Syria, just Freedom," July 21,
   2011
   Photo: Reuters
   Syrian protesters hold a Syrian flag during a demonstration against
   Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in front of the Syrian embassy in
   Amman. The words on the flag read: "God, Syria, just Freedom," July 21,
   2011

   Syrian rights activists say the military has deployed security forces
   in the capital, Damascus, Friday ahead of planned anti-government
   protests.
   The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said army elements set up
   checkpoints and carried out patrols in Qaboun and Rukneddine
   neighborhoods.
   Last Friday, at least 32 people were killed after Syrian security
   forces opened fire on tens of thousands of demonstrators during some of
   the largest protests to date against President Bashar al-Assad's
   government. At least 23 of those people were killed in the capital and
   its suburbs.
   On Thursday, Syrian forces used tanks and other weaponry as they
   intensified their crackdown on anti-government protesters in the
   central city of Homs.
   Residents and activists say Syrian tanks moved to block off
   neighborhoods as government forces conducted raids and made arrests.
   Syrian rights activists and witnesses say pro-government forces have
   killed at least 20 people in Homs since Monday, including seven
   mourners at a funeral.
   The city is a center of recent protests against President Assad.
   It is difficult to verify accounts of the violence in Syria because its
   government has barred foreign media from reporting and traveling freely
   in the country.

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

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