Children fall victim as the battle rages for Syria's gateway city - Telegraph

Children fall victim as the battle rages for Syria's gateway city - Telegraph

clipped from article:

By Hussein al Haqq, Al Rastan

9:00PM BST 26 Sep 2011

The Daily Telegraph has witnessed devastating scenes from the key city of Al Rastan – a city which bridges the country’s north-south divide – in which tanks and other heavy weapons are being used against schools and homes.

Armed opposition groups have taken to building barricades against the onslaught. And according to residents many parts of Al Rastan have become no-go zones with skirmishes and military raids a daily occurrence.

The much feared 'shabiha’ – pro-Assad militias- storm houses, hunting defected soldiers and arresting suspected dissidents as they go – 'looking for reasons to kill’ one resident said. Government snipers sit atop local security headquarters during the day, picking off those who venture too close, whilst at night more random shootings follow.

All public services in Rastan have been cut – including the vitally important schools. With nowhere to go during the day, children have in some cases become helpless targets.

One father wept as he recounted how a bullet meant for him had passed through his shoulder and into the head of his five-year-old son.

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