Damascus: At least 67 people were killed when security forces opened fire in a crackdown during anti-government protests, while hundreds other were arrested.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Friday, declared by young protesters to be a “day of rage” against the authoritarian government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Majority of the deaths occurred in the southern city of Daraa, where the six-week-old uprising against President Assad began. Deaths were also reported in the central city of Homs.
Earlier Friday, the government said four of its soldiers were killed and two were detained in what it described as a “terrorist” attack in Daraa. State-run media quoted a military spokesman as saying gunmen ambushed a military post in the southern town in the early morning.
In Damascus, more than 10,000 opposition activists were on the streets – the largest demonstration in the capital since the start of the protests. Thousands more joined protests in dozens of other cities and towns, including Banias, Latakia and Qamishli.
They marched in solidarity with the besieged residents of Daraa, which has felt the military crackdown the hardest. In addition to the bloodshed, Daraa’s water, electricity and communications have been cut.
Syrian authorities blame armed gangs and infiltrators supplied with weapons from Lebanon and Iraq for inciting weeks of anti-government protests. The Assad regime claimed that the military action launched this week was intended to protect citizens.
For the first time Friday, Syria’s banned Muslim Brotherhood urged people to join the protests. The group said the authorities’ accusations that militant Islamists were behind the unrest were aimed at causing a civil war and undermining demands for political freedoms.
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council condemned the violence and called for an investigation, while in Washington, President Barack Obama imposed sanctions freezing property controlled by three top Syrian officials, the Syrian intelligence agency and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Iranian entity is blamed for providing material support to Syria’s crackdown on protesters.
Human-rights groups say more than 500 demonstrators have been killed since the uprising began on March 15.
Meanwhile, at least 50 members of Baas Party, ruling party in Syria, tendered their resignation, following the severe anti-government protests.
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