WarSclerotic

Syrian forces kill 63 protesters in deadli… JPost – Middle East.

  BEIRUT – Syrian forces killed at least 63 civilians in attacks to crush pro-democracy demonstrations on Friday, the Syrian human rights organization Sawasiah said on Saturday.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets after noon prayers on Friday in defiance of security forces determined to crush a revolt against President Bashar Assad‘s 11-year rule.

Sawasiah said 53 demonstrators were killed in the city of Hama, one in Damascus and two in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Seven people were also killed in the town of Rastan in central Syria, which has been under a military assault and a siege by tanks since Sunday.

It was one of the bloodiest days since the revolt broke out 11 weeks ago.

Security forces and snipers fired at tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the city of Hama, where 29 years ago President Hafez Assad, Bashar’s father, crushed an armed Islamist revolt by killing up to 30,000 people and razing parts of the city to the ground.

“The firing began from rooftops on the demonstrators. I saw scores of people falling in Assi square and the streets and alleyways branching out. Blood was everywhere,” a witness who gave his name as Omar told Reuters from Hama.

“It looked to me as if hundreds of people have been injured but I was in a panic and wanted to find cover. Funerals for the martyrs have already started,” he said.

In the southern city of Deraa, where protests first broke out 11 weeks ago, hundreds defied a military curfew and held protests, chanting “No dialogue with killers”, two residents in the city told Reuters. The protest later broke up.

Syrian forces also opened fire on demonstrations in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor and in Damascus’ Barzeh district.

“Tens of thousands turned up in Hama and Idlib in the biggest demonstrations since the uprising began. This is a natural reaction to the increased killings and lack of seriousness by the regime for any national reconciliation,” said Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. One person was killed in Idlib, he said.

Activists and residents said thousands of people marched in the northwesterm province of Idlib, Kurdish northeast, several Damascus suburbs, the cities of Homs and Hama and the towns of Madaya and Zabadani in the west.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon demanded an immediate end to the “violent repression” and human rights abuses by Syrian forces.

Rights groups say security forces have killed more than 1,000 civilians, provoking international outrage at Assad’s ruthless handling of the demonstrators.

This entry was posted on June 4, 2011 at 6:30 AM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.