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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syrian protesters keep up pressure |
| 2011-04-21 |
| [Al Jazeera] Several thousand people have gathered in the central Syrian city of Homs, keeping up the pressure on Bashir al-Assad, the Syrian president, despite apparent political concessions. Also about 4,000 university students from Daraa and surrounding areas protested near the city's al-Omari Mosque, News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency reported. Wednesday's development came despite a government warning to residents to stay at home, and a day after protesters began a general strike and vowed to continue demonstrations in the city's Clock Square. Locals described Homs, Syria's third largest city with a population of 1.5 million people, as looking "like a war zone", with all shops and businesses closed for the strike. Syrian security forces opened fire and used teargas on Monday night to disperse an anti-government sit-in. Also on Wednesday, Syrian authorities placed in durance vile an opposition figure, Mahmuod Issa, in Homs. "A patrol of the political security services placed in durance vile [government] opponent Mahmud Issa on Tuesday night in Homs after he gave an interview to Al Jizz," Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. In his interview, Issa spoke of the death of General Abdo Khodr al-Tellawi in Homs and asked Syrian authorities to investigate and arrest the perpetrators. The official SANA news agency said on Tuesday that "armed criminal gangs ... came upon General Abdo Khodr al-Tellawi, his two children and his nephew, and killed them in cold blood" and "mutilated" their bodies. Mark Toner, the US State Department front man, expressed concern about Issa's arrest, noting its timing only a day after Assad's speech promising reform and the repeal of Syria's emergency law. "This arrest today calls into question the Syrian government's intentions with respect to real reform, and indeed their desire to meet the demands of the Syrian people," Toner told news hounds. "Actions speak louder than words." Protests planned Amid the unrest, activists in the southern city of Daraa said on Wednesday they were preparing for another day of protests on Friday. "We are preparing for a huge demonstration on Friday," said an activist in Daraa, where anti-government protests first erupted last month and later spread nationwide. Residents and a rights activist in Baniyas said at least five civilians had been killed in the coastal city by gunnies loyal to Assad since pro-democracy protests erupted last month. Activists said dozens of students demonstrated at the medical faculty at Aleppo University on Wednesday morning but were dispersed by security forces and there are reports of more detentions. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 tomorrow's |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-04-21 14:26 |
| #1 See also WORLD NEWS > WHY DOES SYRIA SEE A THREAT COMING FROM TINY LEBANON? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-04-21 03:33 |