Syrian security forces open fire, kill several protesters

Syrian security forces open fire, kill several protesters

2011-06-18 01:08:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS (BNO NEWS) -- Syrian security forces on Friday opened fire on protesters in the western city of Banias who are demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, a rights activist said. Several people were reported to have been killed.

Al Arabiya television reported that thousands of people demonstrated across the country after the opposition called for a day of massive demonstrations, following the weekly Muslim main prayers. The Local Coordination Committees, which is documenting the protests, said about 2,000 protesters marched in the towns of Amouda and Qamishli, calling for the regime's downfall.




Syria-based rights activist Mustafa Osso said troops in large numbers poured into Maaret al-Numan, 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the Turkish border. Omar Idilbi of the Local Coordination Committees added that government forces had taken full control of Maaret al-Numan, where 100,000 people live.

The state-run SANA news agency reported that security forces took positions near Maaret al-Numan "to prevent the organized armed terrorist groups from blocking the international highway between Aleppo and Hama."

"Khan Sheikhoun and Maaret al-Numan families received the Army forces with cheers, rice and flowers, welcoming them to restore security and tranquility to their city which was terrified by the armed organizations," a military source said as quoted by SANA.

Meanwhile, the German news agency DPA reported that at least eight people were killed after security forces used live ammunition against protesters. Three people were shot in the central city of Homs and four others in Damascus countryside, while a 16-year-old was killed in the southern Daraa province.

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 from his father in 2000.

Human rights activists say more than 1,400 Syrians have been killed and thousands more have been detained since the unrest began, which the government blames on 'terrorists.' Some 9,600 others from the northwest have sought refuge in camps in neighboring Turkey.

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