Syrian protesters defy crackdown

Bashar al-Assad's brutal Ramadan offensive against his own people appears to have failed, with anti-regime demonstrations erupting across Syria.

At least 15 people were killed in various parts of the country on Friday as security forces responded with the mercilessness that has characterised the authorities' response to the uprising over the past five months.

The defiance on the streets represents a major blow to Mr Assad, and his decision to escalate the use of force over the past fortnight seems to have badly misfired.
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Fearing precisely such scenes, Mr Assad ordered tanks to invade a series of restive cities and towns on the eve of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, which began almost two weeks ago.

More than 400 people were killed in the worst bloodshed since the uprising began, but by Friday it was palpably clear that he had not succeeded in crushing the spirit of protesters. Thousands poured out of mosques in Hama, where more than 150 people are thought to have died a week ago, at the end of noon prayers, two days after Mr Assad ordered the withdrawal of the tanks in the belief that the city had been pacified.

Almost immediately, they were hit with gunfire. Two people were killed, opposition groups said. More fatalities were reported in the cities of Deir el-Zor, Homs, Lattakia and in suburbs of the capital Damascus as an opposition call to return to the streets for a day of ''no kneeling'' before the regime received an overwhelming response.

Across the country, the demonstrators chanted the same mantra: ''We will only kneel before God''.

If Mr Assad has failed to subdue his people, he has succeeded in alienating many of his international supporters, from Arab states to allies such as Russia and Turkey, who have all spoken out against the Ramadan offensive.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on China, India and Russia to reinforce their displeasure by imposing energy sanctions on Syria and halting arms exports to the Assad regime.

Citing a ''crescendo of condemnation'' against Mr Assad's repression and violence, Mrs Clinton used an appearance with reporters at the US State Department on Friday to make a public appeal for increasing the international pressure building against the Syrian government.

''We urge those countries still buying Syrian oil and gas, those countries still sending Assad weapons, those countries whose political and economic support give him comfort in his brutality, to get on the right side of history,'' she said. ''We are consulting closely with partners around the world and we expect to see action.''

Source: smh.com.au