Syrian protests met with violent reprisal from pro-Assad forces

Syrian Protests Take a Deadly Turn

Syrian protests escalated to deadly clashes between anti-government protestors and heavily-armed troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

The city of Daraa was the center of operations to quell the uprising which started six weeks ago. Syrian protestors are demanding that the president and his family who has ruled the country with an iron fist for several years finally step down.

At least 20 people died yesterday when tanks, armored vehicles and snipers opened fire on demonstrators. Eyewitness accounts said that soldiers and pro-government militia are even going house-to-house to intimidate residents and arresting those who attend Syrian protests.

Syria is the latest country in the Middle East to be racked by violent upheavals after Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The violent clashes come just days after President Bashar al-Assad gave concessions to appease protestors, including lifting a decades-old state of emergency.

But the ferocity by which government forces have responded to stop Syrian protests indicate that the move was superficial and that al-Assad is flexing his muscle to show that he is still very much in charge.

Outside observers say that the authorities there are afraid that Syrian protests in Daraa would spread to other cities which could end the regime just like what happened to Egypt and Tunisia.

The overall toll is estimated at 400 deaths since March 15. About 1,000 people have been detained because of the Syrian protests, said Mahmoud Merhi of the Arab Organization for Human Rights.

Anonymous sources say that some countries in the United Nations are preparing a draft statement condemning the violent retaliation of government forces to put an end to Syrian protests.

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday April 26 2011, 8:17 AM EDT. Ref: Bloomberg. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0