Despite mounting international condemnation, Syrian troops continued to storm a northwestern town near Turkey's border and shot dead at least five people in a western town near the Lebanese border, activists told The Associated Press Thursday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said the shooting wounded 16 other people. President Bashar Assad said the army was responding to criminals and terrorist gangs, but most of the world--even ally Turkey--understands that Syria has killed over 2,000 of its own people to quell anti-government uprisings that began five months ago. The White House applied sanctions against Syrian banks and a phone company Wednesday but has not yet officially called for Assad's ouster.
