Syrian tanks storm strategic town of Rastan

[pampango]

Source: Aljazeera

Syrian army tanks have stormed the strategic town of Rastan in a bid to stamp out anti-government protests in the centre of the country, residents have said. Troops, backed by tanks and helicopters, moved into Rastan, seen as a gateway to the north, on Tuesday after hitting the town overnight with heavy gunfire, witnesses said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the AFP news agency that Syrian forces had raked the city with machine gun fire from sunrise, wounding at least 20 people.

Also on Monday, online activists hacked into the official websites of seven major Syrian cities and several government departments. The activist groups Anonymous and RevoluSec claimed responsibility for the operation, leaving their mark on sites such as the ministry of transport and ministry of culture.

Activists replaced the official sites with caricatures of the Syrian president and a message saying, "Don't let Bashar monitor you online", along with tips on how to avoid detection by Syria's online intelligence - known as the Syrian electronic army.

Later on Monday, the pro-government Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility for briefly defacing the website of Harvard University in the US. Hackers replaced the home page with an image of Syria's president, and a message accusing the US of supporting the uprising against Assad, and threatening retaliation.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/201192772414155988.html

---

Got to admire the courage and persistence of the Syrian people to keep up their protests for so many months in the face of such military power.

[SkyDaddy7]

1. I guess it is like an Iranian told me...

during the protest that living under a brutal regime & being scared to death everyday the secret police are going to snatch you, a family member or someone you care about & never be seen again that you lose the fear off death...They simply get so tired of it they would rather die than continue to live like that.

...The will to be free is powerful stuff!

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, pampango.

[tcaudilllg]

3. Assad will do anything to stay alive, and to maintain order in Syria.

[Arctic Dave]

4. Same with Sirte.

All those foreign bombs and heavy guns.