SYRIA UNREST- PROTESTS IN DERAA,DAMASCUS &HAMA

Syria unrest: Protests in Deraa, Damascus and Hama

      Gunfire has been heard during a fresh protest march in the Syrian city of Deraa, reports say.  The marchers had attended funerals for some of the 25 protesters shot dead on Wednesday,22^nd March,2011, by security forces.  Demonstrations were also reported in the capital, Damascus, where there were some arrests, and in the towns of Hama and Tall. Opposition activists had called for nationwide protests after Friday prayers, following a week of unrest.  The city of Deraa, south of Damascus, has become the centre of a serious challenge to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.  Some of the protesters started a fire under a bronze statue of his father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, witnesses reported.

            More than 40 people are thought to have been killed in the town in a week of protests, although it has been hard to verify the accounts. Unconfirmed reports on Friday said another group of protesters trying to reach Deraa were killed in a nearby village when security forces opened fire.   A human rights activist told AFP news agency the deaths occured in Salamen village. A witness told al-Jazeera television channel at least 20 had died.

                  In Damascus, hundreds marched on King Faisal Street chanting: "Peaceful, Peaceful, God, Syria, and Freedom".  Thousands of protesters are marching in Deraa chanting for freedom. They are criticising a presidential adviser who said they were protesting because they were hungry. "Deraa people are not hungry, we want freedom," they are saying.  In Damascus, one demonstration was broken up by security forces. Many people were arrested.  "There were hundreds of us who marched after prayers, but we were surrounded and attacked by security .This protest was broken up by security forces and many were arrested, reports say.

         In Hama, hundreds of people were said to have gathered on the city streets to chant "freedom". In 1982, the Syrian army put down an uprising led by the Muslim Brotherhood in Hama. Rights groups believe that tens of thousands of civilians were killed when large parts of the city were destroyed in the military assault.  In Tall, witnesses quoted by the Reuters news agency said about 1,000 people had rallied to show their support for the Deraa protesters, and were chanting slogans denouncing members of the ruling Assad family.

Prof. John Kurakar