Wednesday, May 18, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated May 18, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated May 18, 2011
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - May 18, 2011: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued May 18, 2011 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

ARMY

AM General, LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded on May 9 a $164,426,332 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of 763 various models of the High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle for two foreign military sales to Afghanistan and Jordan. Work will be performed in Mishawaka, Ind., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2012. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-10-C-0405).

Watterson Construction Co., Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded on May 10 a $67,814,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the design and construction of an aircraft maintenance hangar, rotary wing parking apron, and water storage pump house facility for the Aviation Task Force on Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Work will be performed in Fairbanks, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 20, 2013. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 11 bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-11-C-0007).

Kiewit Building Group, Inc., Omaha, Neb., was awarded on May 13 a $65,180,000 firm-fixed-price, award-fee contract. The award will provide for the construction of a high-explosive pressing facility, Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas. Work will be performed in Amarillo, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 1, 2013. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with nine bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa, Okla., is the contracting activity (W912BV-11-C-0005).

General Dynamics Lands System, Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on May 13 a $33,985,782 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the option of an existing contract to provide system technical support for the Abrams Tank Program. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 19, 2011. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07-C-0046).

Korte-Purcell, JV, St. Louis, Mo., was awarded on May 11 a $23,898,777 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the design and construction of the Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Complex, Phase I Barracks at Fort Richardson, Alaska. Work will be performed in Anchorage, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 1, 2013. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with nine bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-11-C-0021).

Walbridge Overaa, JV, Detroit, Mich., was awarded on May 13 a $22,856,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the design and construction of an Army Reserve Center at Concord, Calif. Work will be performed in Concord, Calif., with an estimated completion date of March 13, 2013. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 14 bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-11-C-0018).

American Mechanical, Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska, was awarded on May 10 a $16,341,855 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the construction of standard design three-company with dispatch, fire station, at Fort Greely, Alaska. Work will be performed in Fort Greely, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 15, 2013. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with nine bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-11-C-0010).

Armtec Defense Products Co., Coachella, Calif., was awarded on May 16 a $15,511,320 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the facilities, personnel, and equipment for the manufacture of the Modular Artillery Charge System combustible case M231/M232A1. Work will be performed in Coachella, Calif., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2012. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-08-C-0437).

Primal Innovation, LLC, Sanford, Fla., was awarded on May 12 a $14,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the material and equipment to support the operational assessment of glass wave for the purpose of assisting U.S. Forces in the defeat of improvised explosive devices. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, and Sanford, Fla., with an estimated completion date of May 5, 2012. Two bids were solicited, with two bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity (W912HZ-11-C-0011).

Record Steel and Construction, Inc., Meridian, Idaho, was awarded on May 10 a $14,432,301 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the construction of raised and extended levees and provide a new interior drainage pump station for flood protection in the city of Devils Lake, N.D. Work will be performed in Devils Lake, N.D., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2012. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with five bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Contracting Division, St. Paul, Minn., is the contracting activity (W912ES-11-C-0006).

American Mechanical, Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska, was awarded on May 12 a $14,144,555 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the completion of unfinished site work and corrective work to primary facility housing units and supporting facilities for 110 single family housing units at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Work will be performed in Fairbanks, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2012. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with three bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-11-C-0018).

NextiraOne Federal, LLC, Herndon, Va., was awarded on May 10 a $13,621,659 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the support of outside plant infrastructure modernization at Fort Pope, N.C. Work will be performed in Fort Pope, N.C., with an estimated completion date of April 26, 2013. Ten bids were solicited, with two bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, National Capital Region, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (W91QUZ-06-D-0027).

Weeks Marine, Inc., Covington, La., was awarded on May 13 an $11,143,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the dredging at the mouth of the Columbia River and select Columbia River bars. Work will be performed in or around the Columbia River in both Oregon and Washington, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 15, 2011. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with two bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland, Ore., is the contracting activity (W9127N-11-C-0015).

System Studies and Simulation, Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on May 10 a $10,277,453 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the advanced aircraft flight training services at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, Fort Rucker, Ala. Work will be performed in Fort Rucker, Ala., with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2012. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with three bids received. The U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Center, Fort Rucker, Ala., is the contracting activity (W9124G-11-F-0033).

The City of Aberdeen, Md., was awarded on May 13 a $10,153,152 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the yearly funding of water and sewer services for the Aberdeen Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., with an estimated completion date of July 7, 2024. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with two bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (DAAD05-99-C-0008).

BAE Systems Ordnance System, Inc., Kingsport, Tenn., was awarded on May 12 a $10,062,500 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of propellants. Work will be performed in Radford, Va., with an estimated completion date of May 12, 2011. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with two bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-11-D-0013).

American Mechanical, Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska, was awarded on May 10 a $7,821,868 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the construction or organizational storage building and recreational vehicle parking area, and the demolition of two buildings. Work will be performed in Fairbanks, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 27, 2012. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with seven bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-11-C-0006).

Dixie Construction Co., Inc., Churchville, Md., was awarded on May 16 a $7,680,737 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the option of an existing contract for paving, drainage and civil site work at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Work will be performed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, with an estimated completion date of May 17, 2012. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with three bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (W91ZLK-07-D-0104).

De Arteaga-Miron, JV, LLC, Neenah, Wis., was awarded on May 13 a $7,564,138 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the construction of Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, Phase II, at Fort McCoy, Wis. Work will be performed in Fort McCoy, Wis., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 16, 2012. Nine bids were solicited, with nine bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-11-C-0013).

Alutiiq International Solutions, LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded on May 13 a $7,138,550 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the design of a tactical equipment maintenance facility, which is part of the Aviation Battalion Complex. Work will be performed in Fort Riley, Kan., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 15, 2012. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with three bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Mo., is the contracting activity (W912HN-08-D-0032).

Four Bears/TCI JC, LLC, Elroy, Wis., was awarded on May 13 a $6,843,300 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the design and construction of an annual training/mobilization barracks, Fort McCoy, Wis. Work will be performed in Fort McCoy, Wis., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 12, 2012. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with nine bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-11-C-0012).

University of Texas, Austin, Texas, was awarded on May 12 a $6,750,000 cost-no-fee contract. The award will provide for the execution of a long-term research effort in pulsed power, electrodynamics and hypervelocity physics to overcome technical barriers, and exploit technical breakthroughs. Work will be performed in Austin, Texas, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2012. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Adelphi Contracting Division, Adelphi, Md., is the contracting activity (W911QX-07-D-0002).

AIR FORCE

KNWEBS, Inc., Oklahoma, Okla., is being awarded a $43,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for all personnel, supervision, and services necessary to accomplish organizations unique communications and information systems support for all Aeronautical Systems Center directorates at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for information technology functions considered to be outside the definition to routine help desk support. At this point, $150,000 has been obligated. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. ASC/PKEIS, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8604-11-D-7452).

Array Information Technology, Inc., Greenbelt, Md., is being awarded a $43,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for all personnel supervision and services necessary y to accomplish communications and information systems support for all Aeronautical Systems Center directorates at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for information technology functions considered to be outside the definition to routine help desk support. At this point, $508,979 has been obligated. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. ASC/PKEIS, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8604-11-D-7453).

Solutions Through Innovative Technologies, Inc., Tulsa, Okla., is being awarded a $43,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for all personnel, supervision, and services necessary to accomplish organizations unique communications and information systems support for all Aeronautical Systems Center directorates at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for information technology functions considered to be outside the definition to routine help desk support. At this point, $50,000 has been obligated. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. ASC/PKEIS, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8604-11-D-7454).

NAVY

Marotta Controls, Inc.*, Montville, N.J., is being awarded a $14,276,000 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-06-D-0021) to exercise an option for the procurement of up to 400 pure air generating systems for integration into the LAU-7/127 missile launchers. Work will be performed in Montville, N.J., and is expected to be completed in November 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

*Small business

*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - OSAMA BIN LADEN NEWS / PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan Taliban Attacks Security Forces To Avenge Osama bin Laden Death

DTN News - OSAMA BIN LADEN NEWS / PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan Taliban Attacks Security Forces To Avenge Osama bin Laden Death
**Over 70 militants attack Pakistani security post, 17 dead
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / PESHAWAR, Pakistan - May 18, 2011: More than 70 militants armed with rockets and mortars attacked a security post on the outskirts of Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday, the latest in an upsurge of violence since Osama bin Laden was killed in the country this month.
Pakistani police officers ride horses in front of relatives of one of two officers, who were killed in an attack by militants at a security checkpoint, carrying his body during his funeral procession in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Dozens of militants bearing rocket-propelled grenades attacked a key security checkpoint near the Pakistani city of Peshawar early Wednesday, sparking a three-hour clash that killed two police officers and 15 insurgents, police said. (Photo - AP)
Two members of the security forces and at least 15 insurgents were killed in a four-hour gunbattle that erupted following two successive attacks on the security post set up to defend Peshawar, the gateway to the troubled northwest region.
"They were well-armed. They had heavy weapons, rockets, mortars everything. The fighting lasted for about four and a half hours," Ejaz Khan, a city police officer, said.
The attack took place near Khyber, part of Pakistan's lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border, which is regarded as a global hub of militants, including al Qaeda and the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban movements.
Two members of the security forces were killed and five wounded, Khan said. At least 15 insurgents were killed.
Security forces repulsed the first attack by the militants which was carried out just before midnight, officials said.
"Then they carried out a big attack early in the morning. We also called in reinforcements to counter the attack and we did it," a Peshawar security official said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban have stepped up attacks in Pakistan after the killing of bin Laden in A military town by U.S. special forces on May 2.
The Pakistani Taliban, who are close to al Qaeda, have vowed to avenge bin Laden's death and said their suicide bombers killed 80 people last week at a paramilitary academy in the northwestern town of Charsadda.
In a suspected sectarian attack on Wednesday, two men on a motorbike fired on a vehicle and killed four Shi'ite Muslims and wounded four others on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta.
Pro-Taliban Sunni militants groups, many of whom are linked to al Qaeda, are trying to foment conflict among Pakistan's religious sects in an attempt to destabilize the government just as it faces pressure from the United States and the West to crack down on militant groups, analysts say.
Pakistan has come under renewed pressure to prove it is serious about tackling militancy since bin Laden was discovered after apparently spending at least five years in the South Asian nation about a two hour drive from the headquarters of the country's intelligence service.
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND NEWS: Sex ~ Do International Bodies Look The Other Way?

DTN News - INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND NEWS: Sex ~ Do International Bodies Look The Other Way?
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / UNITED NATIONS, New York - May 18, 2011: Whether IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is innocent or guilty of sexual assault, his arrest has raised questions about whether international organizations are soft on their top officials in such matters.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn appears in Manhattan Criminal Court during his arraignment in New York May 16, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

The scandal has broken at a time when private companies are becoming less and less tolerant of any sexual misconduct by their senior executives. A string of high-profile companies have shed their bosses in recent years over such issues.
Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, was arrested on Saturday while about to fly to Paris after a chambermaid at a New York hotel said he had tried to rape her earlier in the day.
His lawyer has said the French economist will plead not guilty, but the sensational incident has probably wrecked his hopes of running for president of France next year or of continuing to lead the IMF.
However the case turns out, critics say international bureaucracies may not be rigorous enough in their hiring standards, especially when who gets to be boss is decided at least in part by horse trading among governments.
Strauss-Kahn, who was backed by the European Union for his post, faced earlier controversy in 2008 over an affair with a female IMF economist who was his subordinate.
He apologized for an "error of judgment" and in an internal probe of the affair, the IMF executive board concluded that reports of previous extramarital entanglements had no merit in deciding whether he would be a capable leader.
At the IMF's sister agency, the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, who was nominated for the top job by then U.S. President George W. Bush in 2005, resigned two years later after a battle over his stewardship prompted by his involvement in a high-paying promotion for his companion.
TOUGH QUESTIONS
Such episodes are evidence for some of inherent weaknesses in selection systems.
Yasmeen Hassan, deputy executive director of women's advocacy group Equality Now and a former U.N. employee, said of the world body, "My sense is that when people get very high level appointments, they are pushed through by governments and the tough questions are not asked."
The IMF and World Bank are classified as U.N. specialized agencies but in practice the United Nations does not control them or appoint their leaders.
But the United Nations, whose leaders often say has a "zero tolerance" policy on sexual harassment, has had issues of its own. The best known involved Ruud Lubbers, a former Dutch prime minister who became head of the U.N. refugee agency and was accused in 2004 by a U.S. employee of unwelcome touching.
Although an internal report supported the allegation -- which Lubbers denied -- then U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan ruled it could not be substantiated. Lubbers resigned in 2005.
At the Hague-based International Criminal Court -- not a U.N. body -- prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo was accused by an employee in 2006 of sexual misconduct involving a female journalist in South Africa. A panel of ICC judges found the allegation "manifestly unfounded."
The United Nations says it is well aware it is under increased scrutiny over the conduct of its staff.
U.N. human resources chief Catherine Pollard said recruitment was "guided by a thorough and competitive selection and appointment procedure" and candidates had to disclose any arrests or detentions and reasons for leaving prior positions.
Senior and other staff had to complete training sessions on sexual harassment and abuse of authority, Pollard told Reuters in an email. "Inappropriate behaviour of its staff can and often does reflect adversely on the U.L Organization ... This is particularly the case for high-level officials."
PROTECT THEIR OWN
But not everyone is convinced. George G. Irving, a Massachusetts-based lawyer and former counsel to the U.N. legal affairs office, said that while background checks are extensive for lower level jobs, at the top level "it's certainly not transparent that they do that kind of vetting."
International organizations elsewhere defended their practices. In Brussels, EU commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen said the 27-nation bloc's code of conduct is "probably among the strictest in the world" and that its president and commissioners undergo "considerable scrutiny."
NATO officials said everyone except the secretary-general has to go through a very rigorous security clearance by national authorities. "This looks at everything and speaks to virtually everyone you ever knew," one official said.
Only one NATO secretary-general has been forced to step down -- Belgian Willy Claes, a former foreign minister, who resigned in 1995 over a Belgian corruption scandal in which he was eventually convicted of taking bribes.
The instinct of international bodies to protect their own, at least in public, contrasts with the abrupt exits in recent years of a number of private company bosses -- from Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) to BP Plc (BP.L) -- over sexual issues.
"Corporate boards are increasingly less tolerant of anything that's smacks, smells, looks like some degree of impropriety," said Linda Finkle of business coaching firm Incedo Group, based near Washington.
"As boards in the past did not take action for infractions, however large or small, it has come back to bite them, and so they're extra cautious now," Finkle said. But she said that in some government organizations she had worked with, "I'm often surprised at the total lack of accountability."
(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Braden Reddall in San Francisco; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Related News;
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Tanks Shell Syrian Town, West Piles On Pressure

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Tanks Shell Syrian Town, West Piles On Pressure
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / AMMAN, Jordan - May 18, 2011: Tanks bombarded a Syrian border town for the fourth day on Wednesday in a military campaign to crush protests against President Bashar al-Assad, under mounting Western pressure to stop his violent repression of demonstrators.
Syrian residents wait for their relatives in Wadi Khaled as the Lebanese army secures the area near the Lebanese-Syrian border May 16, 2011. Credit: REUTERS/ Omar Ibrahim
Troops went into Tel Kelakh on Saturday, a day after a demonstration there demanded "the overthrow of the regime," the slogan of revolutions that toppled Arab leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and challenged others across the Middle East.
Assad had been partly rehabilitated in the West over the last three years but the United States and European Union condemned his use of force to quell unrest and warned they plan further steps after imposing sanctions on top Syrian officials.
Human rights groups say Assad's crackdown has killed at least 700 civilians. Authorities blame most of the violence on armed groups backed by Islamists and outside powers, saying they have also killed more than 120 soldiers and police.
"We're still without water, electricity or communications," a resident of Tel Kelakh said, speaking by satellite phone.
He said the army was storming houses and making arrests, but withdrawing from neighborhoods after the raids. In a sign that the army was coming under fire in the town, he said some families "are resisting, preferring death to humiliation."
Syria has barred most international media organizations from operating in Syria, making it hard to verify reports from activists and officials.
Prominent human rights lawyer Razan Zaitouna said the army and security forces have killed at least 27 civilians since the army moved into Tel Kelakh.
The state news agency SANA quoted a military source saying eight soldiers had been killed on Tuesday in Tel Kelakh and in the southern rural Deraa province where protests first broke out exactly two months ago.
It said five of the dead were killed when an "armed terrorist group" fired on a security forces patrol near Tel Kelakh, which is close to Lebanon's northern border.
The Tel Kelakh resident said artillery and heavy machinegun fire hit the main road leading to Lebanon overnight, as well as the Abraj neighborhood inhabited by minority Turkmen and Kurds.
"Most residents of Tel Kelakh have fled. Some remaining people tried to escape to Lebanon yesterday but the shelling has been too heavy," the resident said.
"Abraj residents have issued a call to (Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip) Erdogan to help them. But it is like the drowning hanging on to a straw," he said. Erdogan said last week 1,000 people have been killed in Syria's unrest, and has become increasingly critical of Assad.
TANKS MOVE INTO SOUTHERN CITY
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Tuesday France and Britain were close to getting nine votes for a resolution on Syria at the U.N. Security Council, but Russia and China were threatening to use their veto.
Syrian tanks also moved into a southern city on the Hauran Plain on Tuesday after encircling it for three weeks. Soldiers fired machineguns as tanks and armoured personnel carriers entered Nawa, a city of 80,000 people 60 km (40 miles) north of the city of Deraa, according to activists from the region.
"The governor (of the province) had announced that the troops have the names of 180 wanted men in Nawa, but the arrests are arbitrary," one rights campaigner said.
In a possible indication of the ferocity of the crackdown, villagers near Deraa have found two separate graves containing up to 26 bodies, residents said on Tuesday. Syrian authorities dismissed such reports as part of "campaign of incitement."
Deraa residents said tanks were still on the streets of their city and rights campaigners said the southern towns of Inkhil and Jassem also remained besieged. Mass arrests continued in the Hauran Plain and other regions of Syria, they added.
Protests erupted in the Damascus suburb of Douma, Syria's second city Aleppo, the town of Zabadani in the foothills of mountains separating Syria and Lebanon, the central town of Rastan, Hama and the Deir al-Zor region near Iraq's border.
Most were not large but rights campaigners said they were significant given the severe security clampdown.
Related News
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS