Syria deploys troops after clashes

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011328411030118.html

Syria deploys troops after clashes

Security forces patrol city of Latakia following the deaths of 12 people in a

wave of protest violence and unrest.

Last Modified: 28 Mar 2011 05:41

Syria has deployed security forces to the northern city of Latakia after violent

protests left there at least 12 people dead and more than 150 injured amid calls

for reform.

Troops patrolled the streets of Latakia - a religiously diverse port city 350km

northwest of the capital, Damascus - in force on Sunday, in response to a wave

of unrest that has put president Bashar al-Assad under unprecedented pressure.

Syrian authorities have accused " armed groups " of seeking to incite sectarian

strife in the city, which has seen violent clashes between pro-reform

protesters, security forces and government supporters.

Dozens of pro-reform protesters have been killed in similar clashes in towns and

cities across the country, including the city of Daraa and nearby Sanamin.

In Sanamin, the relatives of those killed in clashes on Friday said their loved

ones had been demonstrating peacefully and that security forces - not gunmen -

killed at least 10 people there.

However, Bouthaina Shaaban, an adviser to the president, told Al Jazeera's Cal

that " what happened in Sanamin, it was not a protest, it was not a

demonstration, it was a group of about 10 people who attacked a police station " .

" They [then] went to a military station and were firing at the guards. And so

obviously the guards, it's their duty to protect their military station. And

here is where firing began and unfortunately there were victims there, " she

said.

The competing claims came as Syrian authorities announced they would end decades

of emergency rule in the country.

Shaaban told our correspondent that the law would " absolutely " be lifted, but

she failed to give a timetable.

The repeal of the emergency law, in place since the 1963 coup that brought the

Baath Party to power, has been a key demand of protesters demanding greater

political freedoms.

Reforms announced

The emergency law imposes restrictions on public gatherings and movement and

authorises the arrest of " suspects or persons who threaten security " .

It also authorises the interrogation of any individual and the surveillance of

personal communication as well as official control of the content of newspapers

and other media before publication.

The state also announced a series of reforms, including the release of detainees

and plans to form new laws on the media and licensing political parties.

" There are many issues which were decided, and which are being followed up with

the president and the government, " Shaaban said.

Pressed on when reforms would be implemented, she said that " one or two steps in

the implementation [of reforms] " would be announced within a week.

Our correspondent said the move to lift the emergency law would go some way

towards appeasing the protesters' demands.

" It will open up press freedom and political freedom. This is something that

people have been calling for on the streets. Certainly it is a concession on the

government's part, " he said.

The unrest across Syria has put enormous pressure on Assad, who succeeded his

father Hafez on his death in 2000, and the 45-year-old president is expected to

make a public address in the days to come.

'Extremists' accused

Deadly violence has also gripped cities in southern Syria for weeks. On

Saturday, demonstrators torched the Baath party's local headquarters in the

southern town of Tafas.

Nationwide, officials say more than 30 people have died since the unrest began

earlier this month.

But activists have said that more than 126 people have already died in protest

violence, with upwards of 100 killed on Wednesday alone in a crackdown on

protests in Daraa, a southern tribal town that has become the symbol of the

dissent.

In London, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights released a list of 41 names

of people reportedly detained by authorities on Friday. Amnesty International

has issued a list of 93 people it says have been detained. And Reuters media on

Sunday reported that two of its journalists in the country were missing.

But in a move said to be aimed at placating protesters, Syrian authorities on

Sunday released a lawyer - Jawabra - along with 15 others who were

arrested for taking part in a silent protest demanding the release of children

detained for scrawling graffiti inspired by pro-democracy protests across the

Arab world.

This followed news of the freeing of 260 political prisoners.

Assad faces calls to curb a pervasive security apparatus, free political

prisoners and reveal the fate of tens of thousands of dissidents who disappeared

in the 1980s.