Syrian Troops Pull Out of Tall Kalakh, Deploy on Outskirts

Syrian troops on Thursday began withdrawing from Tall Kalakh, deploying on the outskirts of the western town that had been besieged following pro-democracy protests, a witness told Agence France Presse.

"Some 20,000 soldiers that had been in the town began withdrawing this morning," said the witness who did not want to be identified. "We counted 80 tanks and armored personnel carriers and buses."

He added however that soldiers were still carrying out arrests in the town and looting homes.

He said the army had encircled the nearby town of Arida where shooting could be heard.

The army laid siege to Tall Kalakh last Saturday after it became the latest town to rise up against the regime.

Activists say at least 26 people were killed in the town and many more injured.

More than 850 people, including women and children, have been killed in the unrest roiling the country since mid-March and at least 8,000 arrested, according to rights groups and the United Nations.

The authoritarian regime has blamed the violence on "armed terrorist gangs" backed by Islamists and foreign agitators.