More than 30 dead in protests as violence erupts across Syria
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 22, 2011 -- Updated 1646 GMT (0046 HKT)
Syrian anti-government protesters taking part in a demonstration in Banias in
northeastern Syria on Friday April 22, 2011.
Syrian anti-government protesters taking part in a demonstration in Banias in
northeastern Syria on Friday April 22, 2011.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Deaths reported in Homs, Izraa, Harasta and Damascus suburbs
* Groups have urged Syria not to suppress protests
* More than 200 people were said to be killed before Friday's marches
(CNN) -- Security forces fired on demonstrators during mass protests across
Syria Friday, killing at least 33 people in another bloody day of confrontation
between government forces and demonstrators.
The deaths came as thousands of Syrian protesters defiantly marched after
Muslims' weekly prayers, another showing of mass discontent toward the
government.
An opposition leader in Homs confirmed four deaths and more than 30 wounded as
security forces fired on demonstrators. Protesters raced from the main streets
for cover and have taken refuge in smaller streets and alleys where they are
waiting for the situation to calm. An eyewitness said one of those slain was a
41-year-old demonstrator who was shot in the neck.
A witness in Douma said eight people died and around 25 were wounded when
security forces fired on several thousand protesters. Riot police and secret
police comprised the security forces and a sniper on a hospital roof was seen
taking shots at people. Pellets and lethal rounds were used, the witness said,
as people chanted for the downfall of the regime.
A doctor in the Damascus suburb of Moadamy said thousands of citizens were
fired on in an "indiscriminate and disproportionate manner." Four died and
about 80 were wounded, and heavy gunfire continued to ring through the streets,
he said adding that the situation is chaotic and the condition of many of the
injured is deteriorating.
Five people were slain in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka, a witness said.
Wissam Tarif, a human rights activist, said security forces also fired on
demonstrators in Izraa, located near the southern city of Daraa. He said
demonstrators wanted to join the protesters in Daraa, but were shot as they
advanced. Nine died and others were wounded, he said. Two people in Izraa also
confirmed what they said was an assault on demonstrators and many casualties.
Will protests resume in Syria?
RELATED TOPICS
* Damascus (Syria)
* Syria
* Protests and Demonstrations
In Daraa, where the protests got their start last month, people shouted
"dignity and freedom."
Activist Razan Zaitouneh in Damascus said security forces in the suburb of Sit
Zainab fired on demonstrators tearing down a statue of Hafez al-Assad, the
president's late father and the former ruler of Syria.
She said three people were wounded when security forces opened fire in Hasaka
in the northeast.
An activist in Harasta in the south said 2,000 to 3,000 people met with a
fierce crackdown by security forces, and heavy gunfire could be heard as the
eyewitness spoke on the phone.
Three people have been killed and nine injured in protest, the source said,
angry demonstrators burned down a police station.
Witnesses reported demonstrations in the capital, Damascus, where people
chanted slogans and tear gas was fired amid a moderate security presence.
Amateur video obtained by CNN purportedly shows demonstrations in Homs,
Damascus, Banias, Kiswah, and Qamlishi. CNN cannot independently confirm the
authenticity of the material.
There was no immediate comment from the government about the gatherings.
There have been daily demonstrations across Syria for weeks and huge rallies
have been common in the authoritarian state after Friday prayers across the
predominantly Muslim nation. As people gathered to express their grievances
toward the government, they've frequently been greeted with force from police.
Amnesty International said before Friday's marches the death toll had exceeded
228 since the demonstrations began in mid-March.
Human rights groups have been urging the government to refrain from cracking
down on peaceful turnouts during what is a Facebook-inspired outpouring dubbed
"Great Friday."
The turnouts come a day after President Bashar al-Assad lifted the country's
48-year-old state of emergency and abolish the state security court, both key
demands of demonstrators who've taken to the streets.
"It is imperative that these demonstrations are policed sensibly, sensitively
and in accordance with international law to avoid further bloodshed on Syria's
streets," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East
and North Africa, said on Thursday.
"These 'Great Friday' protests could be the largest yet. If government security
forces resort to the same extremely violent tactics they have used over the
past month, the consequences could be exceedingly grave."
Human Rights Watch also called on authorities "to permit Syrians to exercise
their right to peaceful assembly" on Friday.
It said the president's decision to lift the state of emergency "will only be
meaningful if Syria's security services stop shooting, detaining and torturing
prisoners," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said
on Thursday.
The group says it has "documented a regular pattern of arbitrary detention of
protesters, activists and journalists, many of whom have been tortured and
mistreated."
The emergency law permitted the government to make preventive arrests and
override constitutional and penal code statutes. The security court was a
special body that prosecuted people regarded as challenging the government.
Al-Assad's decrees on Thursday also included recognizing and regulating the
right to peaceful protest. They also extended the period that security forces
can hold suspects in certain crimes.
Human Rights Watch says the decrees don't "address the extensive immunity that
Syrian law provides to members of its security services."
It urged al-Assad to undertake more change, such as releasing political
prisoners and those arrested for peaceful protests, order probes in security
force violations, ensure detainees "prompt access to a lawyer," and amend
repressive provisions of the penal code.
It said the government, which is controlled by the Baath Party, should "enact a
political parties' law in compliance with international human rights norms."
Such a law would allow the establishment of independent political parties.
"The Syrian people want real reforms, and such reforms cannot take place as
long as Syria's security services are above the law and can violate people's
basic rights at will," Stork said.
CNN's Joe Sterling, Arwa Damon, Nada Husseini and Salma Abdelaziz contributed
to this report
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