BOYNUYOGUN, Turkey: Syrian tanks pushed toward more towns and villages near the Turkish and Iraqi borders Tuesday, expanding the crackdown against a 12-week uprising to the north and east as more Syrians flee their homes. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad appears to have abandoned all pretense of offering reform, sending tanks, helicopter gunships and only his most loyal forces into population centers to crush dissent. Anti-government activists reported tanks in the northern market town of Maaret Al-Numan and in smaller villages near Jisr Al-Shughour, a town stormed Sunday by Syrian elite forces backed by helicopters. Human rights activist Mustafa Osso said tanks were also moving in the large eastern province of Deir El-Zour, which borders Iraq. The Syrian government claimed to have thwarted cross-border weapons smuggling in that area. The growing military campaign has sent some 8,000 Syrians fleeing for the lives to neighboring Turkey, where they offer a grim picture of what they left behind. Troops “damage homes and buildings, kill even animals, set trees and farmlands on fire,” said Mohammad Hesnawi, 26, who fled Jisr Al-Shughour. He accused pro-government militias known as “Shabiha” of atrocities there. Turkish authorities were giving priority to women and children fleeing the border village of Al-Hasaniya, where people “are eating fruit out of the trees, including apples and cherries,” since there's not enough food for all, Hesnawi said. Only sketchy reports are emerging from the embattled northern area, since foreign journalists have been expelled from Syria. Some analysts have said Assad is trying to keep the opposition from establishing a base, as happened in Libya, where the rebels trying to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi took over the coastal city of Benghazi. Assad initially had promised mild reforms, but his gestures have been rejected by the thousands who have staged protests across Syria, who say they won't stop until he leaves power, ending his family's 40-year ruling dynasty. In the past week, as the government appeared to be on the verge of losing control of major swaths of the country, it abandoned most pretenses at reform. Most of the major military operations have been carried out in border areas, including Jisr Al-Shughour, the southern city of Daraa, near the border with Jordan, and the central province of Homs, bordering Lebanon. Activists say more than 1,400 Syrians have died and some 10,000 have been detained in the government crackdown. Turkey's prime minister, opening his borders to those fleeing the government onslaught, has accused Assad's regime of “savagery,” but also said he would reach out to the Syrian leader to help solve the crisis. Turkey and Syria once nearly went to war, but the two countries have cultivated warm relations in recent years, lifting travel visa requirements for their citizens and promoting business ties. Refugees and relatives on both sides appeared to be crossing unimpeded around the village of Guvecci. In an apparent anticipation of more refugees, workers of the Turkish Red Crescent, the equivalent of the Red Cross, began building a fourth tent camp Monday near the border.
