AMMAN, (Reuters) – Sy-rian security forces and gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad shot dead at least nine civilians yesterday in a sweep on the coastal town on Jabla, the Syrian human rights organisation Sawasiah said.
The forces deployed in the old Sunni district of the mixed town on the Mediterranean coast following a pro-democracy protest against the autocratic rule of President Bashar al-Assad the previous night.
Assad, who succeeded his late father as president in 2000, is from Syria’s minority Alawite sect, who form a
