The Syrian army storms Kanaker

The Syrian army stormed the town of Kanaker on Wednesday - a vital artery to Daraa in the countryside surrounding Damascus, with 18 tanks, killing at least 11 people.  At the same time a campaign of arrests took place in the capital and its surrounding area, with 750 people initially being detained.  Syrian authorities also closed the Bar Association in Aleppo after protests led to bloodshed. A human rights activist said that the operation also resulted in the arrest of 250 people in the town of Kanaker that used to provide Daraa with supplies.  Activists also reported that about 11 buses transported the prisoners from the town, cutting off the electricity, water, and internet, after the 18 tanks stormed through it. A human rights activist said: "The raid took place in Kanaker in retaliation because they have the role of providing supplies to the southern city of Daraa." The Syrian Association for Human Rights stated that "The security crackdown began anew at dawn yesterday in the Damascus neighbourhood of Barzeh." Witnesses and reports stated that on Wednesday more than 700 elements, led by the brother of Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad, spread through the centre fully equipped.  More than 200 random arrests were made, and houses with walls bearing slogans against the regime were demolished. In the city of Zainab south of Damascus around 300 people have been arrested over the past two days, and hundreds of others in the city of Al-Hajr Al-Aswad, and Zabadani. Meanwhile authorities imposed a curfew in the city of Daraa from 12 noon until four in the afternoon.  They also closed the Bar Association in Aleppo after hundreds of lawyers sat in the Palace of Justice to confirm the sanctity of Syrian blood.