Friday, May 20, 2011

'23 dead' in Syria crackdown







Witnesses say at least 23 shot, including two boys, in latest protests against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

"Syrian security forces have killed at least 23 protesters in the latest armed crackdown on protesters, a leading Syrian human rights researcher has told Al Jazeera.

Razan Zeitouna said activists had listed names of 23 protesters shot by security forces in Friday's crackdown, adding that a further two victims were yet to be fully identified.

Nine protesters were killed in Maret al-Naiman and Kafr Nabal, suburbs of Hama, nine were killed in Homs, including an 11-year-old boy, four were killed in Berze, a suburb of Damascus, and one person died in Sanamein, near Deraa.

The dead included two boys named Aiham al-Ahmad, 11, and 16-year-old Ahmad Bakr....

"The four secret police officers opened fire on the protesters with machine guns," a witness said.

The attack took place after officers drove police cars into a crowd of about 2,000 demonstrators in an attempt to disperse them, a second witness said.

After hitting several protesters with the vehicles, one of the cars crashed into a wall, prompting the officers to jump out and open fire.

Four other protesters, two of them identified by activists as Raqan Mishrif and Mustapha Ali al-Zakrit, were also killed, while at least seven others were wounded....

Assyrian Christians arrested

News of the shootings came as Syrian security raided the headquarters of the Assyrian Democratic Association in Qamishli and arrested 12 of its members, according to two activists who spoke to al-Jazeera.

It was the first crackdown by security forces on the widespread participation of Assyrian Christians in the democratic uprising.

"The new thing this Friday was the large participation of Christian Assyrians," said a Kurdish leader in Qamishli.

"There were hundreds of Assyrians with us and now the security men are arresting leaders from the Democratic Assyrian Organization.

"The regime is so afraid to see that Muslim Arabs and Kurds and Christians are demonstrating together ... This the best answer to the regime which says that Salafists and radical Islamists are behind the demonstrations. Syrians want freedom."....

'Azadi Friday' (the Kurdish word for freedom)

...."All Syrians agreed to use the Kurdish word for freedom today, in solidarity, as the regime is trying to divide Arabs, Kurds and Assyrians in the area," he said.

"The regime is also trying to accuse the Kurds of working for foreign interests and of working towards a separate Kurdistan, which is not true.""

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