One dead as fresh violence erupts in eastern Syria

[News_Editor]

One dead as fresh violence erupts in eastern Syria

2011-07-17 03:35:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS (BNO NEWS) -- Anti-government protests in Syria, which began in March, continued on Saturday, a day after over a million protesters took to the streets during "Free Detainees Friday."

According to CNN, the activist group Local Coordination Committees in Syria said that at least one person was killed on Saturday when Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters in the eastern town of Albu Kamal. State television, however, reported that one policeman was killed and a number of guards injured after "armed groups" attacked a police station, a mayor's home and other government sites in Albu Kamal.

The violence followed Friday's nationwide protests in which at least 21 civilians and one soldier were killed, according to activists. However, some media reports put the death toll at 41.

Rami Abelrahman, director of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said sixteen people were killed in Damascus and its suburbs, one in Homs, three in Idlib and one in Daraa. As of Friday, the death toll for civilians since the unrest began rose to 1,440, with an additional 353 deaths among army and security personnel, Abelrahman said.

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 his father in 2000.

Assad previously said that the recent events in the country are a conspiracy against national unity. The Syrian government has repeatedly claimed that the violent acts have been instigated by terrorists who use military uniforms and weaponry to pose as soldiers while attacking citizens.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-17

[kuffki]

Slaughter continues while the righteous UN and its honorable members(will not mention their names, especially the founding members) sit around and watch.