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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Protests in Damascus
2011-04-30
Protests against Assad took place in most major centres around Syria on Friday, in a repeat of pro-democracy rallies that have become the norm after weekly Mohammedan prayers. Activists called on protesters to express solidarity with Deraa, where more than 100 people died a week ago.

Friday brought the largest anti-regime protest in the Syrian capital since the protests began last month. Several thousand protesters demonstrated in the conservative Sunni neighbourhood of Midan, many calling for the toppling of the regime, witnesses told Al Jizz.

After the protesters had dispersed, a small pro-government demonstration took place with demonstrators carrying sticks and chanting: "With our soul and blood, we sacrifice to you Bashar."
"Saddam Bashar, we will defend you with our blood!"
Witnesses told the AP news agency that security forces had fired on around 2,000 protesters chanting "God, Syria and freedom only" in the central Damascus
...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
neighbourhood of Midan.

Large demonstrations were also reported in the central city of Homs, the coastal cities of Baniyas and Latakia, the northern cities of Raqqa and Hama, and the northeastern town of Qamishli.

The AFP news agency reported that 10,000 turned out in Banias, shouting "liberty, solidarity with Daraa" and "down with the regime."

In Deir Ez-Zor, northeast of the capital, two demonstrators were beaten with batons and electrical cables after 1,000 people emerged from a mosque and were dispersed by security forces, Nawwaf al-Bashir, a human rights
...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
activist, told AFP.

According to the the AFP, some 15,000 people turned out in the majority Kurdish city of Qamishli and the surrounding towns, shouting "national unity" and "with our soul and with our blood we will sacrifice ourselves for Daraa," activists said.

'Death and devastation'
Meanwhile,
...back at the sandwich shop, Caroline was experimenting with ingredients...
an eyewitness in Deraa, speaking to Al Jizz on Friday from close to the Omari Mosque that has been a focus for the uprising, described a scene of death and devastation.

He confirmed earlier testimony from a separate source of a split in the military forces sent by Assad to lay siege to the city.

The witness said he had collected the names of the dead from different neighbourhoods and counted 25 bodies in his own area.

"Some areas smell really bad due to the bodies rotting in the street. No one can collect them for fear of being shot," he said, the sound of continuous gunfire audible over the phone. Those bodies which have been collected are being stored in refrigerated lorries, he said.

"Deraa is completely surrounded by tanks and armed troops. There are snipers on the roofs of government buildings and tall buildings. They are hiding behind water tanks and some are even hiding in the minarets of mosques."

The Rooters news agency reported on Friday that a human rights campaigner revealed that makeshift morgues in Deraa contain at least 83 corpses, including women and kiddies.

We counted 83 bodies so far, many stored in refrigerator trucks. Most of the bullets went through heads and chests, indicating that snipers most likely had done the shooting,"Tamer al-Jahamani, a prominent lawyer in Deraa, told Rooters.
Posted by:Fred

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