Syrian Military Pound Coastal City

Syrian military boats fired heavy machine guns aiming at impoverished districts of Latakia, a Syrian Mediterranean coastal city on August 14, leaving 19 people dead, according to anti-government activists.

The city took heavy firing from the waterfront as well as in the center as tanks stormed the city districts aiming at protestors who demand the Syrian president step down from power.

Several amateur videos uploaded on the internet showed tanks and armed vehicles deployed in the Al Ramel neighborhood and Shaab beach neighborhood in Latakia.

Al Arabiya cannot independently verify the content of these videos.

Latakia, known as a summer tourist destination is now part of the nation’s brutal governmental crackdown against protestors which has spread though numerous Syrian cities.

Demonstrations have increasingly grown since it initiated in March calling for Assad regime's to end. Human rights groups have said at least 1,700 civilians have been killed by the government’s crackdown.

The Syrian government has said its crackdown is dealing with terrorist gangs and criminals who have created this unrest.