JOIN USMustafa Osso said the arrests were mainly concentrated in the Jisr al-Shughour area, the town of Maaret al-Numan and nearby villages, where the army has been massing troops for days in what appears to be a preparation for a fresh military operation.
Osso added that troops opened fire early Thursday in the outskirts of Maaret al-Numan, a town of 1,00,000 on the highway linking Damascus with Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo. No casualties were reported.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of tanks, armoured personnel carriers and buses used to transport anti-terrorism forces were deploying around the town of Khan Sheikhon south of Maaret al-Numan. It added that residents were fleeing the town that is surrounded from three sides.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has unleashed the military to crush a popular uprising against his authoritarian rule. Human rights activists say more than 1,400 Syrians have been killed since the uprising began in mid-March.