Protests erupt across Syria as world pressure grows

Reuters - Syrian protesters defied a nationwide crackdown by security forces on Friday, witnesses said, as world leaders voiced outrage at President Bashar al-Assad's bloody suppression of the unrest.

Security forces killed two demonstrators in the Qatana suburb of Damascus and fired at protesters calling for the "overthrow of the regime" in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, a rights group and residents said.

Small demonstrations also broke out in Damascus districts of Barzeh, Rukn al-Din and Qaboun, the suburbs of Saqba and Hajar al-Aswad, and in Latakia on the coast and Deraa in the south.

Leaders at a Group of Eight meeting in France said they were "appalled" at the killing of peaceful protesters and demanded an immediate end to the use of force against them.

Rights groups estimate at least 1,000 people have been killed over 10 weeks.

Damascus has ignored growing Western condemnation and sanctions and looks determined to crush the pro-democracy revolt by sending out security forces and tanks to subdue unrest it blames on armed groups who are backed by foreign powers.

Human rights activists said protests flared in the eastern cities of Albu Kamal, where people burned pictures of Lebanese Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who this week threw his weight behind Assad.

Residents said gunfire was also heard in the central city of Homs as thousands gathered despite a heavy security presence, while five protesters were wounded by security forces' shooting in Zabadani, a western town near the Lebanese border.

State television said five members of the security forces were wounded in Zabadani. It also said "armed elements" opened fire on security forces in Deir al-Zor.

Witness reports of events are hard to verify independently because Assad's government barred most foreign media from the country not long after the start of the unrest, which was sparked by democratic revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.

The biggest demonstrations typically occur on Fridays after Muslim prayers, and they have also generally been the deadliest.

WEST "APPALLED BY DEATHS"

Ten weeks into the unrest, protests have failed to gain a critical mass as security forces prevent mass rallies and Damascus and Aleppo have yet to witness big demonstrations.

The Baath Party suppresses any dissent and there is no unified opposition structure to lead the popular movement. Opposition activists in exile will meet in Turkey next week to help coordinate the campaign.

A resident in Nawa, near the city of Deraa said security forces had prevented mosques from calling out noon prayers and snipers were visible on tall buildings.

Two other residents said about 40 tanks were still deployed across two parts of Deraa, where the unrest first began.

In a communique to be issued later after a two-day G8 summit held in Deauville, France, the leaders of the seven Western powers plus Russia called on Damascus to respond to the Syrian people's "legitimate demands for freedom."

"We are appalled by the deaths of many peaceful protesters as a result of the sweeping use of violence in Syria as well as by repeated and serious violations of human rights," the leaders said in a communique, adding they would take "further measures" if authorities did not embark on serious reforms.

Washington and the European Union have already imposed sanctions against Assad and other Syrian officials. But Russia has been more reticent in denouncing Assad because of a desire to reassert old Soviet-era influence in the region.

Western diplomats had expressed hope on Thursday that veto-holders Russia and China would not block a draft resolution which Britain, France, Germany and Portugal circulated to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.

But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters in Deauville a draft resolution was "untimely and damaging."

"There are no grounds to consider this issue (Syria) in the U.N. Security Council. We will not even read the text."

The draft says Syria's actions may amount to crimes against humanity and condemns the violation of human rights, arbitrary detentions and torture of peaceful demonstrators.

CHANTS AND BULLETS

Assad, who inherited power from his father Hafez al-Assad on his death in 2000, has pledged to launch a national dialogue and undertake some reforms in the Sunni Muslim-majority country that has been in the grip of his minority Alawite sect for 48 years.

But protesters and activists have dismissed the moves as empty gestures since the security forces have continued to violently suppress protesters.

Lately, protesters have taken to holding nightly demonstrations to try and circumvent a heavy security presence.

Two witnesses said security forces fired live rounds on Thursday at hundreds of protesters in a night rally in Deraa. In the nearby town of Dael, residents said security forces shot dead three demonstrators on Thursday night.

Thousands of people in Dael and other cities across Syria stood on rooftops and balconies and chanted the Muslim rallying cry "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) until dawn on Friday in a show of defiance, activists and witnesses said.

"The chants mixed with the sounds of bullets," said one of the residents, who gave his name as Abu Hamed.

(Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; Luke Baker and John Irish in Deauville, France; and Luke Charbonneau at the United Nations; writing by Yara Bayoumy in Beirut, editing by Diana Abdallah)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/27/us-syria-idUSLDE73N02P20110527