Syrian security forces killed at least 16 people on June 17, including a teenage boy, as thousands of people poured into the streets across the country calling for the downfall of President Bashar Assad’s regime. The unrest also appeared to be spilling over into neighbouring Lebanon. A senior member of a Lebanese political party allied with Syria and an off-duty soldier were killed after gunmen opened fire and lobbed a grenade near hundreds of people holding an anti-Assad protest in northern Lebanon.
The protests in Syria came hours after Syrian troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships seized control of another northwestern town in the latest military operation to quell the dissent. Since the protests erupted in mid-March, Assad has unleashed the military to crush street demonstrations. Human rights activists say more than 1,400 Syrians have been killed and 10,000 detained. The Syrian crackdown has brought international condemnation and sanctions on the regime. A French official said the European Union was preparing new, expanded sanctions that would target the economy.