Protesters Clashes In Syria

Reports: One Killed In Police-Protesters Clashes In Syria

3/21/2011 6:25 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Violent clashes broke out between police and anti-government protesters in the southern Syrian city of Deraa on Sunday, leaving at least one dead and dozens injured, media reports quoting officials and witnesses said on Monday.

The Deraa demonstration marked the third successive day of such protests in the city. At least four people were killed in the city on Friday in a brutal police crackdown on a similar protest rally.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in the center of Deraa on Sunday, demanding an end to the country's 48-year-old emergency law and the dismissal of government officials involved in Friday's police crackdown.
Clashes between the police and demonstrators reportedly erupted after police attempted to break up the demonstration forcefully. The enraged protesters set fire to headquarters of the ruling Baath Party, a courthouse and two branches of a phone company owned by the President's cousin.
Police are alleged to have fired tear gas shells as well as live ammunition to disperse demonstrators and stop rioting. Though witnesses said at least one person was killed in the clashes, the Syrian government denied it.
Such protests are rare in Syria, where they are banned under emergency laws in place since 1963. But several Syrian cities, including capital Damascus, Deraa and Banyas, have witnessed such protesters in recent days, following the successful uprisings against autocratic regimes in Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year.
Washington has appealed to the Syrian government to exercise restraint while dealing with the protesters. State Department spokesman Mark Toner urged Damascus on Wednesday "to live up to its obligations under the universal declaration on human rights."
President Bashar al-Assad came to power in Syria in 2000 after three decades of rule by his father Hafez. The country had been ruled by Assad's Baath Party since 1963. Though Assad had taken several steps to open up the country's economy in recent years, his administration does not tolerate dissent.
He had recently dismissed the possibility of a popular unrest erupting in Syria like the ones progressing in several Middle-East and North African countries like Bahrain, Jordan, Iran and Libya. Assad believes his country is much more stable than either Tunisia or Egypt, but has pledged to implement several reforms soon.
The recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt had led to the ouster of Tunisian President Zine al-Abdin Ben Ali and his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak. Before being toppled, Ben Ali had ruled Tunisia for 23 years, while Mubarak governed Egypt for more than three decades.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

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