Panic ensues as tanks, gunfire spread in Syria

Fear and panic coursed through Daraa as the Syrian army launched a major military operation in the southern Syrian city Monday.

As one witness spoke by phone, the sound of gunfire could be heard in the background, along with people screaming, "Allahu Akbar" -- meaning "God is great."

"There are around 3,000 soldiers in Daraa now. They are breaking into people's houses, firing randomly at houses," the resident said. "We were sleeping and not protesting."

Another witness described an onslaught of tanks infiltrating the city.

"Before dawn prayers, around 4:30 a.m., the Syrian security forces broke into Daraa," the witness said. "There were so many tanks that entered the city from its four corners. People were heading to mosques when the attack started. People in mosques started warning the people through loud speakers, but the gunfire had already started."

The witness added that ambulances were not allowed into the city and that electricity and phone lines were down.

Anti-government protests that have taken hold in many parts of Syria began in Daraa last month following a violent crackdown by security forces on peaceful demonstrators protesting the arrests of youths who scribbled anti-government graffiti. Protesters have asked for freedom and regime reform, and public discontent with President Bashar al-Assad's government has mounted.

Activists also want the easing of the ruling Baath Party's power and a law that would permit the establishment of independent political parties.

The Syrian government has accused protesters of shooting at security forces, while opposition activists and demonstrators accuse the government of killing demonstrators.

Reports of violence over the past several days have been particularly gruesome.

On Sunday, at least three protesters were killed when security forces and secret police raided the town of Jableh on Syria's western coast and fired at demonstrators without warning, according to an eyewitness and demonstrator.

Security forces surrounded a mosque that was being used to treat the wounded, preventing 18 seriously wounded people from being hospitalized, according to a doctor inside.

On Saturday, at least 10 people died Saturday after Syrian security forces opened fire on mourners at funeral processions in the Damascus suburb of Douma and the southern town of Izraa, according to witness accounts.

And Amnesty International reported at least 75 deaths across the country on Friday.

The Syrian government and security forces have been largely silent to international media over the past month and generally speak only through state media. There was no immediate word from the Syrian leadership about the reports from Daraa on Monday.

"The Syrian regime is killing us," one man in Daraa told. "Please tell the world."