Middle East
Fresh fatalities as Syrians brave crackdown
More deaths reported as several towns witness fresh demonstrations against
president Assad's one-party rule.
Last Modified: 27 May 2011 15:25
Despite heavy-handedness by the security forces, protests have continued
against the Assad regime. [REUTERS]
At least three people have been killed in Qatana, a suburb of the capital
Damascus, after Syrian security forces used live fire to disperse hundreds of
anti-government demonstrators, activists say.
According to Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reporting from neighbouring Lebanon,
there were also reports of five protesters being shot dead in Dael, a southern
town located 10km from Deraa, and one other in Zabadani, a town not far from
the Lebanese border.
The killings came amid renewed demonstrations after midday prayers on Friday,
dubbed "day for the Guardians of the Homeland" by pro-democracy advocates in an
effort to reach out to the army to join their 10-week uprising.
As prayers ended, demonstrations were reported to be taking place in Idlib, in
the country's north west, in Deir al-Zur in the north east, and in Qamishli,
Amouda and Ras al Ain in the Kurdish areas in Syria's north.
Bid to win over army
An eyewitness to the early morning attacks in Dael told Al Jazeera that the
secret police opened fire on a crowd of around 3,000 locals who were returning
to town from a peaceful march to the army barracks on the outskirts.
He said the crowd was chanting, "The people and army are one hand".
The march had passed off peacefully, until the secret police opened fire on the
crowd as tanks entered the town, he said.
Click here for more of our Syria coverage
Khodr, our correspondent, said the number of casualties had been low in
comparison to previous Friday protests, "a sign that the Syrian government is
realising that it cannot stop these protests by relying [only] on a security
option" without dialogue.
She has been reporting from Beirut as Al Jazeera is banned from entering Syria.
She said pro-democracy activists viewed the latest protests as a success since
people took to the streets in cities like Homs and Banias despite a military
siege.
But the demonstrators did not achieve any of their goal, which was to "get the
army to switch sides" and stop shooting at protesters, she said.
The fresh violence came amid a brutal military crackdown on protests, that have
swept the country for weeks and shaken the one-party rule of president Bashar
al-Assad.
More than a 1,000 people are believed to have been killed in the crackdown to
date.
The harsh crackdown has triggered international outrage and US and European
sanctions, including an EU assets freeze and a visa ban on Assad and nine
members of his regime.
Amnesty International, the human rights group, has accused Syrian security
forces of deliberately killing hundreds of demonstrators in the city of Deraa.
G8 shock over deaths
Group of Eight [G8] leaders attending a summit in France on Friday said they
were "appalled" at the killing of peaceful protesters in Syria, and are
considering "further measures" against the country.
"We are appalled by the deaths of many peaceful protesters as a result of the
sweeping use of violence in Syria as well as by repeated and serious violations
of human rights," the leaders said in the communique on Friday.
But the statement refrained from an explicit proposal, contained in earlier
drafts of the document obtained by the Associated Press, to act against
Damascus in the UN Security Council.
"Should the Syrian authorities not heed this call, we will consider further
measures. We are convinced that only by implementing meaningful reforms will a
democratic Syria be able to play a positive role in the region," it said.
The shift in language to a vaguer threat of "further measures" may reflect
reluctance from Russia, which has a veto in the Security Council.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy echoed US president Barack Obama's call for
Syrian leader Assad to lead a transition to democracy or to step down.
"President Assad now has a choice. He can lead that transition or get out of
the way. The Syrian government must stop shooting demonstrators and allow
peaceful protests," Sarkozy said on Friday at the end of the G8 summit in
Deauville, France.
Both Russia and China have been reluctant to support any UN resolution
condemning Syria. Russia has in the past accused NATO of going beyond their
brief on the UN resolution in Libya.
More than 220 civil society organisations from across the Arab world appealed
to the Security Council this week to adopt a resolution demanding an immediate
end to the use of lethal force against protesters in Syria.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
* Deraa
* London
* Dael
* Damascus
Organisation
* United Nations
* Security Council
* G8
* North Atlantic Treaty Organization
* UN Security Council
* European Union
* army
* Syrian government
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