Syrian death toll continues to rise

[News_Editor]

Syrian death toll continues to rise

2011-05-29 00:56:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS (BNO NEWS) -- Human rights activists said on Saturday that the death toll in Friday's violence in Syria rose to 13, CNN reported.

Organizers known as local coordination committees issued a list of names of all but one of those they claim were killed after Syrian security forces fired on anti-government protesters in several southern towns. Four people were killed in Dael, while three died in the suburbs of Damascus. One death was reported in Al Zabadani, three in Homs and one in the village of Moart Shoreen, where a 12-year-old boy lost his life.

The Syrian National Organization for Human Rights group also confirmed those deaths by name, and added an additional fatality in Jabla, bringing the total to 13.

In mid-March, pro-democracy demonstrations began in Syria and have continued across the country, which has been ruled by the Baath Party since 1963. Protesters are demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, who took over the post from his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000, and calling for greater freedoms including the end of the 1963 state of emergency.

At least 830 people have been killed in the protests, according to the Syrian Human Rights Information Link. The number, however, does not include security personnel, many of whom have been killed in attacks by "armed groups," according to the Syrian government.

Protesters have set up local coordination committees across the country to organize the demonstrations. An e-mail from the coordination committees to participants says protesters will carry flowers for the soldiers and chant for the soldiers "to stand with them and support them."

"The protesters demand to their army that they should follow the lead of the Tunisian and Egyptian armies and defend the people against a group of mercenaries fighting for the regime," the e-mail said.

The United States has imposed sanctions on al-Assad and other senior officials for the continuing crackdown on anti-government protesters. According to the order issued by President Barack Obama, the sanctions freeze any assets al-Assad and other officials have under US jurisdiction, and bans US citizens from doing business with them.

The European Council also adopted a regulation that provides for an embargo on exports to Syria of arms and equipment that could be used for internal repression, as well as a visa ban and an assets freeze for 13 persons responsible for the violent repression.

On Friday, Gerard Araud, France's ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters that it was unlikely that there will be any U.N. Security Council vote on Syria through at least the end of May. Russia still opposes to discussing the Syria situation in the U.N. Security Council.

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