Syrian president asks former minister to form new government

Syrian president asks former minister to form new government

2011-04-03 20:54:29 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS (BNO NEWS) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday appointed former agricultural minister to form a new government.

According to a report from the official news agency Sana, Assad issued a decree designating Adel Safar, a member of the ruling Baath Party, with the task. He is expected to unveil the new cabinet within days.

The report added that Assad had issued another decree accepting the resignation of the government of former Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri. Assad on Tuesday accepted the resignation of the 32-member cabinet after weeks of anti-government protests.

President Bashar al-Assad, who has ruled the country for 11 years, has promised a series of reforms in a bid to restore calm. He has agreed to analyze the possible end to the country's emergency rule that began in 1963.

The government has arrested scores of people since large-scale demonstrations began on March 16. Some have been released while others remain in detention and their whereabouts are unknown.

Several demonstrators were killed following Friday prayers in a number of Syrian cities. Security forces reportedly opened fire on protesters in a suburb of Damascus killing four people.

According to Human Rights Watch, at least 61 people have been killed in Daraa governorate since March 18. It is difficult to confirm the death toll, however, because of government restrictions on the media.

The violence against peaceful anti-government demonstrators in Syria has been condemned worldwide, including by the United States and the United Nations. Meanwhile, President al-Assad has blamed the unrest on a foreign "plot."

Protesters are demanding the ouster of President al-Assad, who took over the post from his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000, and calling for greater freedoms. The country has been ruled by the Baath Party since 1963.

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