Middle East Syrians turn out for 'day of defiance' Anti-government rallies get under way in many cities as troops are deployed in flashpoint areas. Last Modified: 06 May 2011 12:30
Al Jazeera speaks to an exiled Syrian activists about how information from Syria is reaching the rest of the world Protesters have taken to the streets across Syria for another day of anti-government protests, dubbed a "day of defiance". There were reports that five people were killed in Homs and one in Hama. Al Jazeera could not immediately verify the reports. Ahead of the protests, the military deployed troops and tanks in politically sensitive areas, and there were reports of live ammunition being fired in the Damascus suburb of Tel, wounding several protesters. Demonstrations began after Friday prayers in many cities, including suburbs of the capital, Damascus. In the Damascus district of Midan, protesters marched chanting "To heaven we go, one million martyrs". The daughter of Riad Seif, a prominent opposition leader, said her father had been arrested during the demonstration along with several others. A live stream from the coastal city of Baniyas showed huge crowds rallying. In the mainly Kurdish town of Amuda in the northeast, people were chanting "The Syrian people are one" and "Freedom, freedom, peaceful, peaceful". A doctor who planned to take part in the demonstrations said "indiscriminate killings and inhumane arrests have generated total disgust among the average Syrian". "Soldiers with rifles no longer deter people. The propaganda that this regime is the only guarantor of stability no longer washes," he told Reuters news agency. Tanks have taken up positions in flashpoint cities including Baniyas, Homs and Rastan, and more than 1,000 people have reportedly been arrested in the last week. Troops have also been deployed in the Damascus suburbs of Irbin, Saqba, Douma and in the town of Tel, north of the capital, according to Reuters. The army announced on Thursday that its forces were pulling out of Deraa, the southern city which has been under military siege since April 25. However, activists said the army remained under the army's control. Footage emerging from the city showed massive destruction, with shelled buildings and burnt cars. Activists say scores of civilians were killed during the siege and that a severe humanitarian crisis had emerged, with shortages of bread, water and gas. Aid delivered Aid workers from the Red Cross and Red Crescent delivered their first emergency relief supplies to Deraa on Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the organisation. Hicham Hassan said a convoy of two lorries carrying clean drinking water and two more with food and first-aid material accompanied a team of 13 experts from the Syrian Red Crescent and International Committee of the Red Cross. Click here for more of our Syria coverage Meanwhile, the US and Italy warned Syria that it will face penalties and increasing isolation if it does not halt violence against demonstrators. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said Syria had to know that there would be "consequences for this brutal crackdown". Diplomats said the European Union could reach a preliminary agreement on imposing sanctions on Syria's ruling hierarchy on Friday, but had yet to decide whether Bashar al-Assad, the president, should be included. Rights campaigners say army, security forces and assailants loyal to Assad had killed at least 560 civilians during seven weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations. The authorities blame "armed terrorist groups" for the violence, including the killings of civilians and members of the security forces. Syrian television has shown what it said were confessions of terrorists arrested in Deraa and caches of weapons it said were seized. Assad said the protesters were part of a foreign conspiracy to cause sectarian strife. Dorothy Parvaz, an Al Jazeera journalist, has been detained since she flew in to Damascus one week ago. The network and her family are calling for her immediate release. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
