An hour-long clash in the southern province of Daraa came on a particularly bloody day in Syria, with as many as 90 people killed across the country on Tuesday. The brazen attack by the army defectors suggested a new confidence among troops who have sided with the protesters and highlighted the potential for an armed confrontation to escalate.
The UN estimates the regime`s military crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising has killed 3,500 people in the past eight months. November is shaping up to be the bloodiest month of the revolt, with well over 300 people killed so far.
The latest death toll was compiled by sources including British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Local Coordination Committees activist coalition and morgue officials.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the observatory, confirmed that 34 soldiers were killed in an ambush in Daraa, the birthplace of the uprising that began in mid-March, inspired by successful revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and later Libya. Although activists say the protests have remained largely peaceful, with demonstrators calling for the regime`s downfall, an armed insurgency has developed in recent months targeting Assad`s military and security forces.
Assad is facing the most severe challenge to his family`s four-decade rule in Syria, with former allies as well as Western nations using increasingly harsh rhetoric in urging him to stop his bloody crackdown. Today, Turkey said it no longer has confidence in the Syrian regime and warned Assad that his brutal crackdown threatens to place him on a list of leaders who "feed on blood."
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan`s comments were a blow to Syria, because the countries once cultivated close ties. But Turkish leaders have grown increasingly frustrated with Damascus over its refusal to halt the attacks on protesters.