In a further blow to President Assad, more than 200 members have quit Syria's ruling Baath Party BEIRUT: Tanks rolled into the northern port of Latakia – a key city in the heartland of Syria's ruling elite — and security forces opened fire on anti-government demonstrators, while heavy shooting rang out again Thursday in the southern protest hotbed of Daraa, witnesses said. In a further blow to President Bashar Al-Assad, more than 200 members have quit Syria's ruling Baath Party in the southern province at the center of the uprising to protest the Assad regime's brutal crackdown on opponents, a human rights activist said. A witness said six tanks rolled into Latakia Wednesday night and security forces fired on pro-democracy demonstrators, wounding four. Unrest in Latakia is significant because the province has strong historical ties to Assad's minority Alawite sect. Latakia is home to a diverse mix of religious groups, with mostly Sunni Muslims in the urban core and Alawites in the countryside. At least 14 people died in clashes in the city during the earlier days of the uprising, raising fears that the violence could take on a sectarian tone in coming days or weeks. Assad has tried to crush the revolt – the gravest challenge to his family's 40-year ruling dynasty. More than 450 people have been killed across Syria in the crackdown, with 120 dead this past weekend alone. In the Damascus suburb of Douma, security forces strengthened their control, fortifying their checkpoints on all roads leading to the area and setting up sand barriers, a resident said. Troops were using heavy machine-guns in a military operation in Daraa Thursday, said resident Abdullah Abazeid. He added that snipers shot and killed more people and that 43 have died since the military descended on Daraa on Monday. The latest deaths include a six-year-old girl, hit by a sniper Wednesday on the roof of her parents' apartment. He added that pro-government gunmen known as “shabiha” damaged a large numbers of shops in the city. Abazeid said they were still hiding the bodies of the dead because the cemetery was occupied by Syrian forces belonging to Unit Four, considered the fiercest and most violent of the troops in the town. In neighboring Lebanon, customs officials and witnesses said hundreds of people crossed the border, fleeing violence in the Syrian town of Talkalakh. Residents of areas near the border heard gunfire overnight. In addition to the 200 Baath Party resignations, human rights activist Mustafa Osso said another 30 resigned in Banias. Most who quit were lower-ranking members, he said. Even though the resignations are small in scope – the party counts more than one million members in Syria – such walkouts were unimaginable before the uprising began.
