Syrian troops accused of opening fire on protesters

SYRIAN troops in armoured vehicles and tanks yesterday stormed the southern town of Daraa and opened fire, witnesses said.

After the latest crackdown on a five-week uprising against President Bashar Assad’s authoritarian regime, activists on social media posted footage of what they said were troops firing throughout Daraa. The sound of heavy gunfire punctuates the footage.

Daraa has become an epicentre of the protest movement which kicked off in the town more than a month ago after authorities arrested a group of teenagers who scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall.