DAMASCUS, Syria: further violence in a city left shaken Syrian south up to six people dead Wednesday, said one activist, making it the deadliest single day since the anti-government demonstrations inspired by uprisings in the Arab world has reached this country last week.
The activist told The Associated Press that six people died in the southern city of Dara, when security forces launched an attack near the al-Omar, where anti-government protesters have taken refuge. He said that among the dead was an ambulance. The activist spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals.
Syrian official TV reported that four people died when "an armed group" attacked an ambulance in Daraa. The dead included a doctor, ambulance driver and a policeman, said the TV.
Conflicting information and the difference in the number of dead could not be immediately reconciled. The latest attack is likely to raise tension in Daraa that security forces are now expected to intensify crackdown against anti-government militants.
The Syrian government has sought to contain the first serious intrusion of political unrest in the Arab world by firing the governor of the southern province of Dara, where security forces have killed seven demonstrators in the main town of Dara weekend. But the dismissal did not assuage popular anger and demonstrations reached the village of Nawa in the province, where hundreds of people marched to demand reform, Tuesday, activists said.
Television, security forces were able to "kill and injure" some of the attackers in the incident Wednesday and continue those who managed to escape. The report gave no further details.
A video posted on Facebook by militants showed an empty street, supposed to be close to al-Omari mosque that shooting could be heard in the dark. In the film, we heard a voice shouting: "My brother, no kill his people You are our brothers?". The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.
State television has denied that security forces had stormed the mosque.
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