200 Left in the power of the Syria protest

By DIAA HADID and ELIZABETH a. KENNEDY, Associated Press

Syrian army units were confronted with one another over the orders of Syrian President Bashar Assad to crack down on demonstrators in Dara, a city under siege in the heart of the insurgency, control groups and human rights, said Thursday.

More than 450 people have been killed - about 100 to only Dara - Syria and hundreds of inmates since the start of the popular revolt against Assad, in mid-March function of the human rights groups.

While the internecine struggles of the troops in Dara does not decisive splits in the army, it is important because army Assad has always been hard defender of the regime.

It is the latest sign that cracks - however small - develop base support Assad which would have been unimaginable only a few weeks ago. About 200 members mainly from low level of the Syria decision, the party Baath have resigned in the brutal repression of Assad.

Ausama Monajed, a spokesman for a group of opposition figures in Syria and abroad, said that clashes between the soldiers were password since Monday.

"There is some battalions which refused to open fire on people," Monajed told The Associated Press, quoting witnesses on the ground in Dara, a city of 75,000 near the Jordanian border. "Battalions of the 5th Division protected people and returned fire when they were subjected to attacks by the 4th Division.

The 4th Division is headed by the brother of the President, Maher.

The reports were corroborated by three witnesses Dara and activist contacted by the AP. The four requested that their names not be used for fear of reprisals.

One of the witnesses said soldiers fired on another Thursday around the Omari mosque in central Dara. He said that the soldiers of the 5th division, composed mainly of conscripts known to be sympathetic to the residents, have been battling soldiers of the 4th Division.

"They defend the people against the forces of Maher Al-Assad," said the resident, who said he lived next to the mosque and attended battles.

"Assad forces it in their heads that we are terrorists and Muslim extremists and they are off to us,", he said. "But the 5th Division is made up of people like us." We talk to them. ?

Another witness of Dara told the AP that he saw the different units of the army soldiers confronting Monday from the mosque of Bilal, when Syrian forces rolled into town. He said that the battle between the forces lasted for several hours.

"We saw soldiers from the fall," said the resident. "And then I heard people shouting ' God is great! They are the martyrs of freedom! ""

The army issued a statement Wednesday denying that there is no splits.

The Government has blamed rogue armed and a foreign conspiracy to disorders, rather than applicants for real reform. Syrian State TV worked persistent, gruesome plans matched dead soldiers to back up their claims that they were attacked.

On the diplomatic front, Turkey held out the prospect of economic rapprochement if Al-Assad meets the demands for reform, while the Western powers warned of sanctions if repression will not stop. Assad met with a delegation headed by the Chief of National Intelligence Agency, the Turkey and the head of the Agency which manages infrastructure projects, the reported Turkey Anatolia news agency.