Syrian Forces Spread to New Area Near Iraq Border

DAMASCUS—Syria’s military expanded its reach to a fourth border by deploying forces to the remote towns of Deir el-Zour province near the frontier with Iraq, a volatile tribal area, stretching the capacity of its military.

Tanks began heading toward al-Boukamal on the Iraqi border on Tuesday, activists and residents said, but hadn’t advanced into the province as of Thursday.

Protesters hold a child up during a demonstration against President Bashar al-Assad in Deir el-Zour, Syria, on Thursday.

Unrest in Syria

Despite the rising death toll from weeks of unrest, people across Syria continue to protest the government of President Bashar al-Assad. See events by day.

Meanwhile, in a sign of the growing pressure on President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to respond to protests, Rami Makhlouf—a first cousin of the president who is considered Syria’s wealthiest businessman—announced late Thursday he would sell his shares in the telecom company SyriaTel and relinquish his real-estate properties to the state.

Mr. Makhlouf, who monopolizes business life in Syria, has been a symbol of corruption for the anti-government protesters, who have chanted slogans against him. Mr. Makhlouf is among members of Mr. Assad’s regime sanctioned by the U.S. and European Union for his role in the protest crackdown.

“I will not allow myself to be a burden on Syria, its people, or its president,” Mr. Makhlouf said in a televised news conference. He said he was responding to rumors by “conspirators” aiming to spread chaos in Syria, maintaining the government’s line that the uprising is instigated by Islamists and foreign agents bent on destroying the country. The move, however, was widely seen as a means for the president to relieve himself of protest targets.

Syria’s military already is spread across the vast northwestern area bordering Turkey, and has remained deployed in its southern region, where protests started in Deraa in mid-April. A military campaign against the western town of Tal Kalakh last month sent thousands of Syrians fleeing into Lebanon. A similar scenario unfolded on the border with Turkey last week, which now hosts at least 8,900 Syrian refugees.

via Syrian Forces Spread to New Area Near Iraq Border – WSJ.com.