49 Killed in Deadliest Day of Syria Uprising

49 Killed in Deadliest Day of Syria Uprising




Syrian protestors burn a poster of Syrian president Bashar Assad during a demonstration in front of the Syrian embassy in Nicosia in this April 22, 2011 photo. Petros Karadjias/AP Photo

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press
BEIRUT April 22, 2011 (AP)

Syrian security forces fired bullets and tear gas Friday on pro-democracy demonstrations across the country, killing at least 49 people — including a young boy — in the bloodiest day of the uprising against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime, witnesses and a human rights group said.

The protests, held every Friday, have become weekly bloodbaths as security forces try to crush the demonstrations. But the mounting death tolls have only served to invigorate a protest movement whose demands have snowballed from modest reforms to the downfall of the 40-year Assad dynasty.

More than 250 people have been killed over five weeks, human rights groups say.

"Bullets started flying over our heads like heavy rain," said one witness in Izraa, a southern village in Daraa province, the same region where the uprising kicked off in mid-March.

Ammar Qurabi, head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights, said the death toll had reached 49 and at least 20 people were missing.

The protest movement has been the gravest challenge against the autocratic regime led by Assad, who inherited power from his father 11 years ago in one of the most rigidly controlled countries in the Middle East.

The uprising in Syria takes its inspiration from the popular revolts sweeping the Arab world. But there are significant differences in Syria that make the protest movement there all the more unpredictable.
PHOTO: Syrian protestors burn a poster of Syrian president Bashar Assad.
Petros Karadjias/AP Photo
Syrian protestors burn a poster of Syrian president Bashar Assad during a demonstration in front of... View Full Size
PHOTO: Syrian protestors burn a poster of Syrian president Bashar Assad.
Petros Karadjias/AP Photo
Syrian protestors burn a poster of Syrian president Bashar Assad during a demonstration in front of the Syrian embassy in Nicosia in this April 22, 2011 photo.
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The country's military structure is a key difference — unlike the armies of Tunisia and Egypt, Syria's military and security apparatus will almost certainly stand by Assad, at least for the time being.

That means there could be darker days ahead as the uprising gains momentum, something that has implications far beyond Syria's borders. Damascus stands in the middle of the most combustible conflicts in region because of its web of allegiances, from Lebanon's Hezbollah and Shiite powerhouse Iran.

On Friday, tens of thousands of people were protesting in the Damascus suburb of Douma, the central cities of Hama and Homs, Latakia and Banias on the coast, the northern cities of Raqqa and Idlib, the northeastern Kurdish region, and the southern province of Daraa.

As the protesters dispersed, the scope of the bloodshed began to emerge.

A video posted on the protest movement's main Facebook page showed a man carrying a bloodied boy near a building as another child could be heard weeping and shouting "My brother!"

Hospitals received scores of dead and gravely wounded.

Friday's witness accounts could not be independently confirmed because Syria has expelled journalists and restricted access to trouble spots. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Assad has been trying to defuse the protests by launching a bloody crackdown along with a series of concessions, most recently lifting emergency laws that gave authorities almost boundless powers of surveillance and arrest.

He also has fulfilled a decades-old demand by granting citizenship to thousands among Syria's long-ostracized Kurdish minority, fired local officials, released detainees and formed a new government.

But many protesters said the concessions have come too late — and that Assad does not deserve the credit.

"The state of emergency was brought down, not lifted," prominent Syrian activist Suhair Atassi, who was arrested several times in the past, wrote on her Twitter page. "It is a victory as a result of demonstrations, protests and the blood of martyrs who called for Syria's freedom."

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Dozens killed in bloodiest day of Syria uprising

By BASSEM MROUE and ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press Bassem Mroue And Elizabeth A. Kennedy, Associated Press – 15 mins ago

BEIRUT – Syrian security forces fired bullets and tear gas Friday at tens of thousands of protesters across the country, killing at least 75 people in the bloodiest day of the monthlong uprising and signaling that the authoritarian regime was prepared to turn more ruthless to put down the revolt against President Bashar Assad.

Among the dead were a 70-year-old man and two boys ages 7 and 10, Amnesty International said. In the southern town of Izraa, a man ran carrying the body of a young boy, whose hair was matted with blood from a gaping wound on his head, as another child wept and shouted, "My brother!" Footage of the scene was posted on the protest movement's main Facebook pace.

In other towns, protesters scattered for cover from sniper bullets, then dragged corpses through the streets. Mobile phone images showed the bodies lined up on the floor inside buildings.

The rallies, most marching out from mosques after Friday's noon Muslim prayers, erupted in towns and cities stretching along the breadth of the country, including in at least two suburbs of the capital, Damascus.

The death toll was likely to rise, raising fears that there will be an explosion of violence Saturday as relatives bury their dead in funerals that in the past have turned into new protests. Ammar Qurabi, head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights, said another 20 people were missing.

Friday's toll was double that of the previous deadliest day of the uprising, on April 8, when 37 were killed around the country. The heavier crackdown came after Assad warned a week ago that any further unrest would be considered "sabotage" after he made the gesture of lifting long-hated emergency laws, a step he ratified on Thursday.

It was a clear sign that regime was prepared to escalate an already bloody response, with nearly 300 already dead in more than five weeks. Previously, Assad has mixed the crackdown with gestures of reform in a failed attempt to deflate the protests.

The bloodshed so far has only served to invigorate protesters whose demands have snowballed from modest reforms to the downfall of the 40-year Assad family dynasty. Each Friday, growing numbers of people in multiple cities have taken to the streets despite the near certainty that they would come under swift attack from security forces and shadowy pro-government gunmen known as "shabiha."

"Bullets started flying over our heads like heavy rain," said one witness in Izraa, where police opened fire on protesters marching in front of the mayor's office. The town is located in southern Daraa province where the uprising kicked off in mid-March.

Tens of thousands marched Friday in the Damascus suburbs of Douma and Hajar Aswad, the central cities of Hama and Homs, Latakia and Banias on the coast, the northern cities of Raqqa and Idlib, the northeastern Kurdish region, and in Daraa, witnesses said.

It was certainly one of the most robust gatherings to date, but it was difficult to gauge whether turnout was larger than heavy demonstrations a week ago. Because the protests were so quickly and violently dispersed Friday, it appeared that many gatherings were broken up before the masses hit the streets.

Amnesty International put the day's death toll at 75, mirroring reports from witnesses to The Associated Press.

Friday's witness accounts could not be independently confirmed because Syria has expelled journalists and restricted access to trouble spots. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

As it has stepped up its response, Assad's regime has seemed little affected by mounting international concern over the violence.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. calls on the Syrian government "to cease and desist from the use of violence against peaceful protesters" and to "follow through on its promises and take action toward the kind of concrete reform that they've promised."

In the U.K., Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the "unacceptable killing of demonstrators by the Syrian security forces."

"I call on the Syrian security forces to exercise restraint instead of repression, and on the Syrian authorities to respect the Syrian people's right to peaceful protest," Hague said.

The protest movement has been the gravest challenge against the autocratic regime led by Assad, who inherited power from his father 11 years ago in one of the most rigidly controlled countries in the Middle East.

The uprising in Syria takes its inspiration from the popular revolts that toppled the leaders in Egypt and Tunisia. But Syria is a highly unpredictable country, in part because of its sizable minority population, the loyalty of the country's military and the regime's web of allegiances to powerful forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Shiite powerhouse Iran.

Serious, prolonged unrest in Syria would almost inevitably hurt Hezbollah and weaken Iran's influence in the region. But it is not at all clear what would come next if a power vacuum emerges in Syria.

The country has multiple sectarian divisions, largely kept in check under Assad's heavy hand and his regime's secular ideology. Most significantly, the majority of the population is Sunni Muslim, but Assad and the ruling elite belong to the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism.

Assad has exploited fears of sectarian warfare — so apparent in neighboring Iraq and Lebanon — by blaming the unrest on a "foreign conspiracy" and armed thugs trying to sow sectarian strife.

On Friday, the state-run news agency SANA said masked gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on the guards of a government office in Izraa, killing eight bystanders. SANA also said two members of the security forces were killed "by armed criminal groups," one in the Muadamiya district of Damascus, the other in the Baba Amr district of Homs.

There was no way to independently confirm the account.

Besides the government crackdown, Assad has been trying to defuse the protests by offering a series of concessions, granting citizenship to thousands among Syria's long-ostracized Kurdish minority, firing local officials, releasing detainees and forming a new government. The recent lifting of emergency laws — which gave authorities almost boundless powers of surveillance and arrest — had been a top demand.

But many protesters said the concessions have come too late — and that Assad does not even deserve the credit, because the protest movement is forcing his hand.

The true strength of the protest movement is still murky because the uprising is so loosely organized. To be sure, the protests have expanded in numbers and to more parts of the country.

But there are no organized, credible opposition leaders who can rally followers on the ground or be considered as a possible successor. No political parties other than the Baath Party are allowed in Syria, and almost all opposition figures have been either jailed or exiled.

Still, many young activists are not deterred by the uncertain future.

"This is no reason to stick with this alternative for life," said one activist in Banias, asking that his name not be used for fear of reprisals. "Syria has many qualified people who were never given a chance."

___

Kennedy reported from Cairo.


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