Military Assault Continues in Latakia

August 16, 2011 from Al Jazeera English

Syria's military assault on the port city of Latakia has continued into a fourth day. Thousands of people have been forced out of the al-Ramel Palestinian refugee camp. It's been a focus for protests since the Syrian uprising began. Southern and southeastern neighbourhoods were also targeted, and activists say thousands of people were detained by the army. Al Jazeera's Nisreen el-Shamayleh has the latest developments from Ramtha, on the Syria-Jordanian border.

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Latakia

Latakia, or Latakiyah, is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages. According to the 2004 official census, the popul... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Palestine refugee camps

Palestinian refugee camps were established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War to accommodate the Palestine refugees who were forced, or chose to leave (depending on Israeli/Arab interpretations) Palestine after the creation of Israel. UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) Resolu... Explore this topic

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years prior to his death. Al-Assa... Explore this topic

Syrian army

The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 per... Explore this topic

Civilian casualties

Civilian casualties is a military term describing civilian or non-combatant persons killed, injured, or imprisoned by military action. The description of civilian casualties includes any form of military action regardless of whether civilians were targeted directly. This diffe... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Protest

An act of defiance or objection by an individual or group of people. Protests can take many forms: peaceful or violent, direct or indirect, large or small. Protests in the news are often political in nature, as groups of citizens voice their disagreement or dissatisfaction. Pr... Explore this topic

Military of Syria

As Forças Armadas Sírias são o principal corpo de combate e defesa da Síria. É consistido de um Exército, uma Marinha de guerra, uma força aérea, unidades de defesa anti-aérea e várias unidades paramilitares. De acordo com as Nações Unidas, durante a mais rescente revolta popu... Explore this topic

Offensive (military)

An offensive is a military operation that seeks through aggressive projection of armed force to occupy territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational or tactical goal. Another term for an offensive often used by the media is 'invasion', or the more ... Explore this topic

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Latakia

Syria

Palestine refugee camps

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