Iran assists Syria in crackdown on protesters: Diplomats |
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Damascus, May 9 ANI: Iran is playing an increasingly active role in helping the Syrian regime in crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, diplomatic sources have revealed. A senior western diplomat in Damascus expanded on assertions, first made by White House officials last month, that Iran is advising president Bashar al-Assad's government on how to crush dissent. The diplomat pointed to a "significant" increase in the number of Iranian personnel in Syria since protests began in mid-March. Mass arrests in door-to-door raids, similar to those that helped to crush Iran's "green revolution" in 2009, have been stepped up in the past week. "Tehran has upped the level of technical support and personnel support from the Iranian Republican Guard to strengthen Syria's ability to deal with protesters," the Guardian quoted the diplomat, as saying. Activists and diplomats claim Iran's assistance includes help to monitor internet communications such as Skype, widely used by a network of activists, methods of crowd control, and providing equipment such as batons and riot police helmets. However, Syria has denied seeking or receiving assistance from Iran to put down the unrest. ANI Posted by aniin on Tuesday May 10 reply Comments |
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