Syrian government forces invaded the northern town of Saraqeb Thursday in a continuation of President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on dissidents.
The troops were transported by 50 buses, pickup trucks and security vehicles, according to local residents who spoke with a Reuters reporter as they fled the town, located in Idlib province some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the border with Turkey.
Soldiers also employed 14 tanks and armored vehicles to invade the town, firing randomly and storming houses as they entered. International media also reported Thursday that five demonstrators were killed and 16 were wounded in a clash with Syrian tanks during a protest against the Assad regime in the village of Kusair near the Lebanese border.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 100 people were arrested during the operation. There have been daily anti-government demonstrations held in Saraqeb -- as elsewhere in the country -- calling for Assad's ouster after nightly Ramadan prayers, drawing Assad's wrath.
Protesters were also expressing solidarity for the besieged central city of Hama, where nearly 700,000 Syrians had been attacked by government troops for the past two weeks. Earlier this week, a number of the other towns near the Turkish border and in the northern region of the country came under government fire as well.