Syrian state television said the number of people killed in an attack by gunmen on a security post in the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour had risen to 82, raising the overall death toll in the town to 120. State television reported that “armed groups” had attacked security positions in Jisr al-Shughour, burning down government buildings and carrying out a “veritable massacre”, a report in the Telegraph said. “The state will act firmly, with force and in line with the law. It will not stay arms folded in the face of armed attacks on the security of the homeland,” Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar was quoted as saying.
The claims come after Syrian forces used helicopter gunships and armoured vehicles mounted with machine-guns against protesters in the town over the weekend, killing at least 25 people and 13 more in nearby villages. Opposition activists were quick to distance themselves from the reports, saying that protesters on the streets remained committed to a “non-violent” revolution against Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, the paper said. At least 30 of the fatalities have been children, activists say, among them 13-year-old Hamza el-Khatib who was allegedly tortured to death in Syrian custody. According to the Telegraph, the battle was a mismatch, with dozens of protesters dying, but it may have marked a turning point in the campaign to oust Assad.