AMMAN, Jordan (Reuters) - Syrian troops using tanks and helicopters pushed towards a northern town on Tuesday after arresting hundreds of people in villages near Jisr al-Shughour, residents said, as more refugees fled to Turkey. More than 8,500 Syrians have sought shelter across the border to escape President Bashar al-Assad's latest military drive to crush protests demanding political change in a country ruled by the Assad dynasty for the last 41 years. Thousands more people are living rough in rural areas just inside Syria, where drenching rain led to miserable conditions. Reuters television footage showed groups of people, looking disheveled and frightened, trying to dry sodden blankets. Most of the refugees came from Jisr al-Shughour, 20 km (12 miles) from the border, where authorities say 120 security personnel were killed by gunmen 10 days ago. Some activists say deserting troops and residents clashed with security forces. The army retook the rebellious town on Sunday and appeared to be moving towards the town of Maarat al-Numaan, which straddles Syria's main north-south highway linking the capital Damascus with the second city of Aleppo. Othman al-Bedeiwi, a pharmacy professor in Maarat al-Numaan, told Reuters by telephone that helicopters had been ferrying troops to a camp in Wadi al-Deif, several km from the town. "We met the (provincial) governor today and he assured us that the army will go in only to arrest 360 people it has on a list," he said. "The people of Maarat, however, are skeptical." "My name is on the list to be arrested as being a gunman. I never carried a weapon in my life." The government says the three-month-old protests are part of a violent conspiracy backed by foreign powers to sow sectarian strife. Syria has banned most foreign correspondents, making it difficult to verify accounts of events. REFUGEES Turkey has set up four refugee camps just inside its borders and the state-run Anatolian news agency said on Tuesday authorities might provide more. It said the number of refugees had reached 8,538, more than half of them children. Syrian rights groups say 1,300 civilians have been killed since the start of the uprising in March. One group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says more than 300 soldiers and police have also been killed. Assad, who inherited power when his father died in 2000, has offered some concessions aimed at appeasing protesters, lifting a 48-year state of emergency and promising a national dialogue, although many activists have dismissed those steps. France, with British support, has led efforts for the United Nations Security Council to condemn Assad's repression of the protests but Russia and China have suggested they might use their veto power to kill the resolution. The West's response has also been tempered by fears of regional instability if Syria, an ally of Iran and supporter of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, is tipped into turmoil. The United States has urged Assad to lead a transition to democracy or "step aside", but unlike France it has not yet declared that Assad has lost his legitimacy to rule. "What happened there over the weekend and what continues to occur is absolutely revolting, and we condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner, referring to events in Jisr al-Shughour. Iran, which crushed its own anti-government protests after the contested re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, accused the United States and Israel of "provoking terrorist groups in Syria and in the region to carry out terrorist and sabotage operations." U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday the Syrian government had responded with "horrific attacks" to people's desire for change and the situation was "very worrisome." "I again urge President Assad to allow humanitarian access to affected areas and to allow a Human Rights Council-mandated assessment mission, which on two occasions I have urged him to accept." In New York, France's U.N. envoy appealed to skeptical Brazil on Monday to support a European draft resolution that would condemn Syria for the crackdown. Brazil, like India and South Africa, has expressed reservations about the draft resolution prepared by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal.
