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Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E7JS0SG20110828?sp=true
Syria Forces Storm Town, Fight Defectors
(Reuters) Khaled Yacoub Oweis - Troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad fought a night-time battle in Damascus with army defectors who had refused to shoot at a pro-democracy protest. In Damascus, dozens of soldiers defected and fled into Al Ghouta, an area of farmland, after pro-Assad forces fired at a large crowd of demonstrators near the suburb of Harasta to prevent them from marching on the center, residents said. It was the first reported defection around the capital, where Assad's core forces are based.