Shelling and mass arrests but Daraa remains defiant

Syrian army tanks shelled the old Roman quarter of the city of Daraa at the heart of the country's six-week-old uprising yesterday, as military reinforcements rolled in to join a siege that has lasted for nearly a week.

Residents of Daraa said they had seen packed busloads of handcuffed and hooded young men being taken in the direction of a large detention centre in the city run by the security services.

Daraa has been without water, fuel or electricity since Monday, when the regime sent in troops backed by tanks and snipers to try to crush protests seeking an end to President Bashar Assad's authoritarian rule.

"They are arresting all males above 15 years. They only have old security tactics and they are acting on revenge," said a prominent lawyer in Deraa who did not want to be further identified.

"Bullets are their response to the people's revolt. The security forces who came to Deraa told us: 'Go buy bread from a bakery called Freedom. Let's see if it feeds you,'" he added.

Residents of Daraa have remained defiant: Unable to leave their homes, they have chanted "God is great!" to each other from their windows in the evenings, infuriating security forces and raising their own spirits.

"Our houses are close to each other, so even though we can't go outside, we stand by the windows and chant," said another Daraa resident, speaking by satellite phone. "Our neighbours can hear us and they respond."

Tanks and armoured personal vehicles have cut off neighbourhoods, and roof-top snipers throughout the city have kept residents pinned in their homes. Other areas of the country have also come under military control, but Daraa has faced the most serious stranglehold.

The death toll has soared to 545 nationwide from government forces firing on demonstrators - action that has drawn international condemnation.

Tanks fired shells into the heart of Daraa's ancient Roman quarter yesterday, said a resident who lives on the outskirts of the city.

He said he could identify the weaponry because he was a former soldier.

Men were forbidden to leave their homes but women were allowed out in the early morning to search for bread, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear that Syrian forces would identify him.

On Saturday, security forces stormed Daraa's Omari mosque, a focal point for protests.

Syria has banned nearly all foreign media and restricted access to trouble spots, making it almost impossible to confirm the dramatic events shaking one of the most authoritarian regimes in the Arab world.

In recent weeks, there have been small signs that cracks are developing in the regime.

Hundreds of members of Mr Assad's ruling Baath Party have resigned over the crackdown.

Human rights activists uploaded a video to YouTube yesterday that they say showed another 200 party members publicly stepping down in Rasten. Rasten and the nearby town of Talbisseh saw some of the worst violence on Friday, when security forces opened fire on dozens of protesters."Our martyrs don't just deserve that we resign from the party. They deserve that we step on this party!" said one man speaking into a microphone as a few thousand residents crowded before a stage.

In addition to the military siege, security forces continued their arrest campaign against activists and suspected demonstrators, said Damascus-based activist Razan Zaitouneh, who is in hiding with her husband.

"They want to paralyse the (protest] movement," Zaitouneh said yesterday.

The protest movement quickly spread nationwide and is now posing the gravest threat to the 40-year ruling dynasty of the Assad family. The president has responded with overtures of reform coupled with a brutal crackdown - although in the past week, the regime has intensified its attempts to crush the revolt by force.