Syria Deploys Army In New Phase of Crackdown

04:05

April 25, 2011

In this image captured on a mobile phone, Syrian anti-government protesters carry the coffin of an activist who was killed on Friday. (AP)

The Syrian government sharply escalated its campaign to crush anti-government demonstrations Monday, sending tanks through the southern city of Daraa and troops to make arrests in the outskirts of Damascus.

It is a sharp turn in the five week old uprising that has left at least 350 dead and posed the most serious challenge in 40 years to the ruling regime.

We have the latest with BBC correspondent Owen Bennett Jones in Beirut.

BBC: Syrian army 'attacks protest city of Deraa'

This segment aired on April 25, 2011.