At least 55 killed in Syria pro-democracy violence

March 26, 2011

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2011-03-26 13:00:00

The " Jasmine Revolution " has now spread to Syria, where at least 55 people have

been reported killed in clashes with security forces loyal to Syrian President

Bashar Al-Assad.

Though Bashar Assad has promised many freedoms and pay increases to his people,

it has failed to prevent dissent from spreading across the country

According to a Bloomberg News report, security forces opened fire on protesters

in the town of al-Sanamein in Daraa and carried out arrests in the capital,

Damascus.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said an armed group killed one man in Homs

while another group in Sanamein attacked security forces, who killed several

assailants.

Syria is the latest Middle Eastern country to be hit by the wave of uprisings

that ousted longtime rulers in Egypt and Tunisia, and sparked a civil war in

Libya. Unrest began in Syria on March 15 when as many 200 people took to the

streets of Damascus against the Assad government.

The crackdown on demonstrators on Friday came a day after Assad's political and

media adviser, Buthaina Shaaban, said protesters' demands were " legitimate " and

would be met.

The government may lift a 1963 emergency law that suspended most rights,

increase judicial authority and prepare a political parties law, she said.

In Washington, the Obama administration has condemned the violence against

civilians by Syrian authorities and urged that those responsible be held

accountable.

According to the Daily Mail, tens of thousands of pro-democracy campaigners have

taken to the streets, demanding freedom and setting fire to a bronze statue of

former president Hafez Assad.

In Damascus, protesters shouting in support of the Daraa demonstrators clashed

with supporters of President Bashar Assad outside the Umayyad mosque.

In the western city of Zabadani, near the border with Lebanon, several

protesters were detained.

In Aleppo, hundreds of regime supporters came out of mosques shouting 'with our

lives, our souls, we sacrifice for you Bashar' and 'Only God, Syria and Bashar!'

(ANI)

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