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SYRIA ARRESTS HUNDREDS OF KURDS

NICOSIA [MENL] -- Syria has launched a crackdown against suspected Kurdish separatists in the north.

Syrian military troops and police have arrested hundreds of Kurds suspected of being involved in the anti-regime riots in cities throughout Syria over the weekend. The unrest was termed as the worst in Syria since the Islamic insurgency against Damascus in the early 1980s.

Kurdish sources said Syrian troops, backed by main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers, patrolled towns and cities, including Damascus. They said Syrian intelligence arrested hundreds of suspected Kurdish separatists in Aleppo and surrounding communities. The unrest was sparked by a soccer riot on Friday in the town of Qamishli near the Turkish border.

In the Qamishli area, government buildings and police cars were attacked and in one case, a security police headquarters was torched. At one point, the sources said, Kurdish unrest reached Damascus.

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