As Syrian forces attacked government protesters on Monday, as many 35 civilians had been killed in Deraa since Monday. The protesters has criticized the presidency lead by the President Bashar al-Assad who has ruled for 11 years.
To face the protesters, President Bashar has sent at least 10 tanks, around 2000 security police, several trucks equipped with heavy machine guns and bus loads of soldiers in full combat gear to crush the revolt.
According to witnesses, the army was firing randomly, cut off roads, shelling homes, storming houses, rounding people up and arresting them.
These action by the Syrian government has drawn international criticism. The European Union is discussing possible sanctions against Syria and urged Syria to end the violence. The White House is also considering sanctions on senior officials that could include a freeze of assets. The criticism has come also from Silvio Berlusconi the Italian Prime Minister and President Nicolas Sarkozy of French.