Hundreds arrested in Syria sweep: activists

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DAMASCUS: Hundreds of dissidents were arrested across Syria on Sunday, including in the flashpoint town of Daraa and a besieged Damascus suburb, after dozens were killed in weekend protests, activists said.

Anti-regime activists called for fresh protests aimed at breaking the week-long siege of the capital's Douma suburb and of Daraa, as well as in solidarity with other towns faced with deadly crackdowns.

Six civilians were killed in Daraa on Saturday, a day after massive protests over the Muslim weekend in Syria where rights groups say the civilian death toll from unprecedented demonstrations that erupted on March 15 has topped 580.

British Prime Minister David Cameron denounced Syria's "disgraceful" crackdown and urged more global pressure against Damascus, although Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned against foreign military intervention.

The United States has blocked assets of President Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher, who commands the feared Fourth Armoured Division, as well as top officials and Syria's intelligence services.

The European Union is preparing a raft of sanctions, including an arms embargo.

"At least 356 people were arrested today across Syria, including in Daraa, Douma, Latakia and Qamishli," an activist said.

He said demonstrations took place in the central city of Homs, where protesters chanted "the people demand the fall of the regime" in the Khaldiyeh area near Nur mosque.

A protest was also held in the coastal city of Latakia and a candlelit vigil in Banias.

Troops in tanks backed by other armoured vehicles on Sunday cruised Daraa streets, shooting to keep residents indoors and arresting men aged 15 and over, an activist from the town told AFP.

"Since early morning the army and security forces have been combing neighbourhoods one by one and making sweeping arrests. Hundreds have been arrested since Friday," activist Abdullah Abizad said.

In Douma, "the army has tightened the siege and has a list of 200 names of people it wants to arrest," another activist said.

A young man said how he escaped on Sunday from Douma at "great risk" using back roads. "It was very difficult and very dangerous. I had to avoid all the checkpoints."

"People are afraid to leave their homes but they are beginning to feel the pinch. There are shortages of food, baby milk and other basic stuff," he said.

According to him, the price of bread has shot up fivefold for a 1.5-kilogramme pack (about three pounds) of flat pita-type bread to 75 Syrian pounds (1.5 dollars)

Activists said many people in Douma and Daraa live off the land and have been relying on what they grow.

In Daraa, "nothing is coming in. People there grow a lot of tomatoes and zucchini and they are making do with what they have. The situation is critical but there is no famine."

The Syrian Revolution 2011, a driving force behind the protests, vowed in a Facebook statement that "we will only kneel before God," and gave a daily schedule of protests for the week in solidarity with Daraa and Douma.

The army said it entered Daraa on April 25 at the request of residents to rid them of "terrorist gangs" responsible for a spate of killings and vandalism."

"The manhunt for terrorist groups has lead to the death of six of them and the arrest of 149 wanted people as well as the seizing of a quantity of arms," according to a military spokesman. (AFP)