Iraq & Syrian Civil Wars

Hundreds of protesters have gathered in the southern Syrian towns of Daraa and Nawa as the United Nations' human rights chief called for a probe into a weekend crackdown which left six people dead.

Daraa, the capital of Daraa governate, has been the site of unprecedented protests since Friday, with demonstrators demanding the end of the government of Bashar al-Assad, the president.

"Around 1,000 protesters gathered in and around the Omari mosque shouting anti-regime slogans, amid a heavy security and army presence," an activist in Daraa, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

The activist said the protesters in the town, a traditional home to large tribal families, had formed a human shield around the mosque on Tuesday to prevent security forces from approaching it.

An AFP photographer and videographer in Daraa, located 100km south of Damascus, the capital, said their car was stopped in the old town and they were beaten by security forces, who seized their equipment.

After being taken in for questioning, they received an apology from the authorities, but had still not found their equipment.

The photographer said soldiers were manning checkpoints at all entries to the town and were cross-checking the identity cards of all travellers with a list of names they had compiled.

Six people have been killed by security forces since the start of the demonstrations on March 18, including an 11-year-old boy who died after inhaling tear gas on Monday.

On March 22 2011 07:48 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
I find it interesting that so called "experts" predicted that Libya, Syria were around considered safe from protests etc. and look what has happened. Now in Syria protesters have burned ruling party Headquarters and it will not help at all that a 11 year old died as a result of tear gas fired by government forces.

Syria will "study" ending an emergency rule in place since 1963 and look into licensing political parties, a
presidential adviser has said, after a week of deadly protests in the country's south.

"I am happy to announce to you the decisions made today by the Arab Baath party under the auspices of President Bashar al-Assad ... which include ... studying the possibility of lifting the emergency law and licensing political parties," the president's media adviser Buthaina Shaaban said at a news conference on Thursday.

The current emergency law allows people to be arrested without warrants and imprisoned without trial.

The announcement came after one week of protests in the southern city of Daraa against Assad's government which has left scores dead.

Soon after the promises of reforms were made, the prisoners detained in the city during the protests were released. There were also reports of orders being issued by the president for the army to pull out of Daraa.

Motee al-Batten, a Daraa resident, told Al Jazeera that the army was still present in the city on Thursday night, and that the situation was peaceful.

He said a majority had reacted positively to the announcement from the president's office but that the people of Daraa still want to know the whereabouts of missing people and bodies and why they were held or killed.

Syrian security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters near the city of Daraa, killing at least 20 people, residents have told Al Jazeera.

DARAA, Syria – Syrian police launched a relentless assault Wednesday on a neighborhood sheltering anti-government protesters, fatally shooting at least 15 in an operation that began before dawn, witnesses said.

At least six were killed in the early morning attack on the al-Omari mosque in the southern agricultural city of Daraa, where protesters have taken to the streets in calls for reforms and political freedoms, witnesses said. An activist in contact with people in Daraa said police shot another three people protesting in its Roman-era city center after dusk. Six more bodies were found later in the day, the activist said.

Inspired by the wave of pro-democracy protests around the region, the uprising in Daraa and at least four nearby villages has become the biggest domestic challenge since the 1970s to the Syrian government, one of the most repressive in the Middle East. Security forces have responded with water cannon, tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. The total death toll now stands at 22.

As the casualties mounted, people from the nearby villages of Inkhil, Jasim, Khirbet Ghazaleh and al-Harrah tried to march on Daraa Wednesday night but security forces opened fire as they approached, the activist said. It was not immediately clear if there were more deaths or injuries.

Protests spread in Syrian cities

Syrians stage anti-goverment rallies in the capital, Damascus, and other towns and cities, amid reports that protesters have been killed.

Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has accepted the resignation of the country's government, following two weeks of anti-government protests that have gripped Syria.

"President Assad accepts the government's resignation," an announcement on state television said on Tuesday.

Naji al-Otari, the resigning premier, has been chosen by Assad as caretaker prime minister.

The government has little power in Syria, where power is concentrated in the hand of Assad, his family and the security apparatus. Otari has been prime minister since 2003.

The 32-member cabinet will continue running the country's affairs until the formation of a new government.

A new cabinet is to be formed in 24 hours, sources have told Al Jazeera.

Assad is to address the nation on Wednesday, according to a senior official, in his first speech in two weeks of unprecedented dissent.

He is expected to elaborate on a string of reforms announced last week, amid a wave of dissent and protests demanding reform and more freedoms in the country, which has been ruled by the Baath party since 1963.

More than 60 people have died since March 18 as security forces cracked down on protesters, Human Rights Watch has said.

BEIRUT – A mass protest calling for sweeping changes in Syria's authoritarian regime turned bloody Friday, with the government and protesters both claiming to have sustained heavy casualties as the country's three-week uprising entered a dangerous new phase.

Human rights activists and witnesses said Syrian security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters in the volatile southern city of Daraa, killing 25 people and wounding hundreds. But state-run TV said 19 policemen and members of the security forces were killed when gunmen opened fire on them.

It was the first significant claim of casualties by the Syrian government, which has contended that armed gangs rather than true reform-seekers are behind the unrest — and it could signal plans for a stepped-up retaliation.

Protest organizers have called on Syrians to take to the streets every Friday for the past three weeks, demanding change in one of the most rigid nations in the Middle East. Protests were held in several cities across the country Friday as the movement showed no sign of letting up, despite the violent crackdowns.

Protesters in Syria report 60 people killed by security forces - the highest death toll in five weeks of unrest against President Bashar al-Assad.

On April 25 2011 22:53 Body_Shield wrote:
It would be nice for these ruling parties and such to realize that it's better for them in the long run to cut their losses and basically do what the protesters ask. Then they stand a much greater chance of retaining or returning to power later on.