Syrian troops 'withdraw' from key cities

Syrian military and security forces are withdrawing from the city of Deir ez-Zor and key areas in Latakia, according to Syrian state media, following operations which anti-government activists say have left dozens dead.
Convoys of army vehicles were seen leaving Deir ez-Zor after the military cleared the area of "armed terrorist gangs," SANA, the state-run news agency, reported.
Journalists on a government-organised trip to the city on Tuesday reported armoured personnel carriers and other military vehicles were leaving, and footage showed pictures of crowds chanting and cheering as the soldiers left.
But only hours later, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that one person was killed when security forces opened fired to disperse an anti-government protest in the city when "hundreds of people" marched in Takaya street.
Residents said tanks were still present at the outskirts of Deir ez-Zor and that troops were raiding houses looking for wanted dissidents. Activists say at least 32 people have died since troops seized control of the city last Wednesday.
Al Jazeera's Nisreen el-Shamayleh reporting from Ramtha, on the Syria-Jordan border, said activists on the ground did not believe the government's announcements.
"[They said] a lot of the tanks have been moved to other suburbs on the outskirts of Deir ez-Zor, but did not exit completely ... They basically provide these accounts that challenge these statements from the Syrian government," she said.
Activists also told Al Jazeera that gunfire was heard near Freedom Square after Ramadan prayers on Tuesday night near, where two people were reported to be killed.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/08/20118175632478698.html