On Sunday, Syrian government forces retook control of Jisr al-Shoughour, a rebel town in northern Syria. The troops responded to armed civilians and defected soldiers with tanks, machine guns, and helicopter gunships. “Shots were falling like rain,” a witness said. Jisr al-Shoughour residents reportedly fled to Turkey, which allowed thousands of refugees to cross the border. By the end of the day, the town was reportedly abandoned, with buildings burned to the ground and tanks rolling through the streets unchallenged. According to the New York Times, “The Syrian government appears to have abandoned all pretense of trying to offer democratic change to calm an angry public.” [NYT]
