Syrian Forces Clamp Down on Southern City After Six Killed

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Source: Bloomberg

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Syrian troops are forcing people to stay at home in the southern city of Daraa after six people were killed in renewed anti-government protests that have swept across the country, Amnesty International said.

“People are being asked through loudspeakers to remain at home or they will be shot,” Neil Sammonds, a researcher on Syria for the rights group, said today by telephone from London. Snipers are enforcing the orders and all the city’s entrances are being watched, he said. “The town is besieged.”

Seven people were also wounded when security forces opened fire earlier today during the funeral of two of those killed during the night in Daraa, according to an Agence France-Presse photographer who visited one of the local hospitals. President Bashar al-Assad sacked Faisal Kalthum, the governor of Daraa, state television reported today.

The rallies in Syria mark the latest extension of the political turmoil that has engulfed the region this year. Uprisings have toppled the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt and threatened the rule of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya, where United Nations-backed international forces are carrying out air strikes to protect civilian protesters.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-23/syrian-forces-clamp-down-on-southern-city-after-six-killed.html

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1. 15 killed in clashes between protesters, security forces in Syria

(CNN) -- Escalating violence between Syrian security forces and anti-government protesters claimed 15 people Wednesday in the city of Daraa, witnesses and rights activists said. Syrian state television reported the government fired the governor of Daraa province, a flash-point of anti-government protests.

There was no breakdown on the casualties. According to activists and witnesses, seven people died shortly after dawn prayers near al Omari mosque when security personnel tried to storm the area where protesters took positions to demand government reforms, an opposition spokesman said.

Later, about 3,000 protesters from neighboring towns gathered outside Daraa and clashed with an army unit known for its loyalty to President Bashar al-Assad, activists and witnesses said. The army unit is headed by a family member, Maher al-Assad, said the opposition spokesman.

Eight more people died in the later clashes, bringing the death toll Wednesday to 15, according to the sources. Overall, at least 21 people have died in unrest in the city since Friday.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/23/syria.protests/?hpt=T1

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2. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Syrian government fell. I mean they murdered the Lebanese

PM. Would be just retribution.