Syrian army units turn on one another: Reports

A witness and human rights groups say there have been clashes between Syrian army units over the crackdown on anti-government protesters in the southern city of Daraa -- a possibly significant turn since the army has been seen as a bastion of support for the regime of president Bashar Assad.

Ausama Monajed, a spokesman for a group of opposition figures in Syria and abroad, said Thursday that his group has received reports of the clashes this week since Assad sent the army into Daraa on Monday. The deployment was a clear escalation in his crackdown on the uprising.

The reports were corroborated by two witnesses and an activist who spoke to The Associated Press. They both asked that their names not be used for fear of reprisals.

Complete coverage: Anger in the Arab World

Upheavals in Egypt and elsewhere turned in favor of demonstrators part in because of troops that ignored orders, refused to fire on crowds and even defected to join the pro-democracy movements.

Assad has tried to crush the revolt — the gravest challenge to his family's 40-year ruling dynasty. More than 450 people have been killed across Syria in the crackdown, with 120 dead this past weekend alone.

Tanks rolled into the northern port of Latakia Thursday — a key city in the heartland of Syria's ruling elite — and security forces opened fire on anti government demonstrators, while heavy shooting rang out again Daraa, a hotbed of the protests, witnesses said.

In a further blow to Assad, more than 200 members have quit Syria's ruling Baath Party in the southern province at the center of the uprising.