Syrian boy, 11, shot dead in protest against government on first day of term

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

At least one child has been shot dead and another arrested as Syrian pupils protested against the government on the first day of the new school year.

Eleven-year-old Ibrahim Mohammed al-Farouj from Sanamein was killed by a bullet to the head, activists said, exactly six months after a group of schoolchildren in the southern city of Deraa sparked the first protests of the uprising against president Bashar al-Assad.

Some schools remained closed because they had been used as holding centres for detained protesters or because teachers had been arrested, according to sources across the country. In other areas, troops used live ammunition to disperse students who had boycotted classes, chanting "No studying, no teaching until the president is toppled."

Sameh al-Hamwi, an activist in Hama, said: "The government postponed the opening of many schools to Tuesday." He estimated that more than half the parents in the city were planning to keep their children at home amid fears for their safety.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/18/syrian-boy-shot-dead-protest