Syrian army enter port city Latakia

DAMASCUS, Mar 27 (agencies): Activists and eyewitnesses say Syrian army units have deployed in key areas of a seaside Mediterranean city rocked by protests and unrest. They told The Associated Press that troops in army vehicles entered Latakia at night following a day of violence and chaos in which protesters and the government accused each other of violence and incitement. They spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. The government on Saturday accused armed groups of attacking people in the religiously mixed resort city, adding at least two people were killed by rooftop snipers. Meanwhile: Syria has freed more than 200 political detainees, mostly Islamists, who were being held at the country's infamous Saydnaya prison, a London-based rights group reported Saturday. "Syrian authorities released more than 200 prisoners from Saydnaya, mainly Islamists, after the prisoners had submitted signed requests for their release," Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP. At least 13 people have been killed in protests this month demanding major reforms in the country, which has been ruled by the Baath party for close to 50 years. The government of President Bashar al-Assad announced a string of reforms on Thursday, including the release of all activists detained this month and the possibility of ending emergency rule, in place since 1963. But protesters have vowed to continued to hit the street until all their demands are met. Meanwhile: Protesters in Syria vowed to hit the streets Saturday, despite a rising death toll in demonstrations that have put President Bashar al-Assad under unprecedented domestic pressure. A Facebook group that has emerged as the motor behind a string of demonstrations that have surfaced in Syria this month drummed up support for more rallies Saturday, the morning after more than a dozen died in protests across the country. "Today, Saturday... popular uprisings in all Syrian governorates," read a posting on The Syria Revolution 2011, which has garnered the support of over 86,000 fans. The call for fresh protest in Syria, which has been ruled by the Baath party for close to 50 years, came one day after at least 13 people were killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces in a Damascus suburb, Homs and the country's south.