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Syria Death Toll Reportedly Up to 850

   VOA News  May 16, 2011
   Syrian women and children arrive in Wadi Khaled in northern Lebanon,
   near the Lebanese-Syrian border May 16, 2011

Photo: REUTERS

   Syrian women and children arrive in Wadi Khaled in northern Lebanon,
   near the Lebanese-Syrian border May 16, 2011

   Syria deployed more tanks on Monday around villages near the Lebanese
   border and the flashpoint city of Daraa, as activists say the death
   toll from the crackdown on anti-government protesters has risen to at
   least 850.

   The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria says violence in
   the southern villages of Inkhil and Jassem has killed at least 34
   people in the past five days. Residents reported tanks patrolling
   Monday around the town of Arida, near the Lebanese border, and Inkhil,
   near Daraa.

   Syrian security forces killed at least seven civilians Sunday when
   troops shelled the western city of Talkalakh near the Lebanese border,
   after hundreds of people fled into Lebanon to escape the crackdown.The
   exodus into Lebanon peaked over the last three days as the Syrian
   government intensified forces on the western city.

Syria Turmoil

   More than 5,000 Syrian civilians have fled into Lebanon since
   protesters began calling for President Bashar al-Assad's resignation in
   mid-March.
   Rights groups say arrests continue in some parts of Syria, but that
   several leading politicians and activists have been released from
   detention.

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

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