Syrians in Jordan demand an end to the bloodshed

Syrians in Jordan demand an end to the bloodshed

2011-06-10 04:36:07 GMT+7 (ICT)

AMMAN (BNO NEWS) -- Hundreds of Syrians living in Jordan on Thursday gathered in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman and called on President Bashar al-Assad to step down and to put an end to the ongoing violence in the country.

According to Ammon News, protesters waved banners and pictures showing solidarity with the Syrian people, and called for a cease of the brutal aggression practiced by Syrian forces against peaceful protestors. They commemorated the martyrs of the 1982 Massacre of Hamaa, as well as the death of Hamza Al Khateeb, a 13-year-old boy who was allegedly abducted and tortured to death by local security forces last April. 

The United Nations on Thursday called on the Syrian government to respond to the repeated requests to allow a fact-finding mission to visit the country.

Non-governmental organizations and others are now reporting that the number of men, women and children killed since the protests began in March has exceeded 1,100, with up to 10,000 or more detained.

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 al-Assad, who took over his father in 2000.

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