Violence erupts across Syria; at least 27 dead in protests

CNN News, by the CNN Wire Staff, April 22, 2011

Syrian anti-government protesters taking part in a demonstration in Banias
in northeastern Syria on Friday April 22, 2011.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Deaths reported in Homs, Izraa and Damascus suburbs
• Groups have urged Syria not to suppress protests
• More than 200 people are said to be killed since demonstrations began last month

(CNN) -- Security forces fired on demonstrators during mass protests across Syria on Friday, another bloody day of confrontation between government forces and demonstrators that resulted in at least 27 deaths.

The deaths came as thousands of Syrian protesters defiantly marched after Muslims' weekly prayers, another showing of mass discontent toward the government.

An opposition leader in Homs confirmed four deaths and more than 30 wounded as security forces fired on demonstrators. Protesters raced from the main streets for cover, and have taken refuge in smaller streets and alleys where they are waiting for the situation to calm. An eyewitness said one of those slain was a 41-year-old demonstrator who was shot in the neck.

A witness in Douma said eight people died and around 25 were wounded when security forces fired on several thousand protesters. Riot police and secret police comprised the security forces and a sniper on a hospital roof was seen taking shots at people. Pellets and lethal rounds were used, the witness said, as people chanted for the downfall of the regime.

A doctor in the Damascus suburb of Moadamy said thousands of citizens were fired on in an "indiscriminate and disproportionate manner." Three died and about 80 were injured, he said.

Five people were slain in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka, a witness said.

Wissam Tarif, a human rights activist, said security forces also fired on demonstrators in Izraa, located near the southern city of Daraa. He said demonstrators wanted to join the protesters in Daraa, but were shot as they advanced. Seven died and nine other people were wounded, he said. Two people in Izraa also confirmed what they said was an assault on demonstrators and many casualties.

RELATED TOPICS

• Damascus (Syria)
• Syria
• Protests and Demonstrations

In Daraa, where the protests got their start last month, people shouted "dignity and freedom."

Activist Razan Zaitouneh in Damascus said security forces in the suburb of Sit Zainab fired on demonstrators tearing down a statue of Hafez al-Assad, the president's late father and the former ruler of Syria.

She said three people were wounded when security forces opened fire in Hasaka in the northeast.

An activist in Harasta in the south said 2,000 to 3,000 people met with a fierce crackdown by security forces, and heavy gunfire could be heard as the eyewitness spoke on the phone.

Witnesses reported demonstrations in the capital, Damascus, where people chanted slogans and tear gas was fired amid a moderate security presence.

Amateur video obtained by CNN purportedly shows demonstrations in Homs, Damascus, Banias, Kiswah, and Qamlishi. CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the material.

There was no immediate comment from the government about the gatherings.

There have been daily demonstrations across Syria for weeks and huge rallies have been common in the authoritarian state after Friday prayers across the predominantly Muslim nation. As people gathered to express their grievances toward the government, they've frequently been greeted with force from police.

Amnesty International says the death toll has exceeded 228 since the demonstrations began in mid-March.

Human rights groups have been urging the government to refrain from cracking down on peaceful turnouts during what is a Facebook-inspired outpouring dubbed "Great Friday."

The turnouts come a day after President Bashar al-Assad lifted the country's 48-year-old state of emergency and abolish the state security court, both key demands of demonstrators who've taken to the streets.

"It is imperative that these demonstrations are policed sensibly, sensitively and in accordance with international law to avoid further bloodshed on Syria's streets," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa, said on Thursday.

"These 'Great Friday' protests could be the largest yet. If government security forces resort to the same extremely violent tactics they have used over the past month, the consequences could be exceedingly grave."

Human Rights Watch also called on authorities "to permit Syrians to exercise their right to peaceful assembly" on Friday.

It said the president's decision to lift the state of emergency "will only be meaningful if Syria's security services stop shooting, detaining and torturing prisoners," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.

The group says it has "documented a regular pattern of arbitrary detention of protesters, activists and journalists, many of whom have been tortured and mistreated."

The emergency law permitted the government to make preventive arrests and override constitutional and penal code statutes. The security court was a special body that prosecuted people regarded as challenging the government.

Al-Assad's decrees on Thursday also included recognizing and regulating the right to peaceful protest. They also extended the period that security forces can hold suspects in certain crimes.

Human Rights Watch says the decrees don't "address the extensive immunity that Syrian law provides to members of its security services."

It urged al-Assad to undertake more change, such as releasing political prisoners and those arrested for peaceful protests, order probes in security force violations, ensure detainees "prompt access to a lawyer," and amend repressive provisions of the penal code.

It said the government, which is controlled by the Baath Party, should "enact a political parties' law in compliance with international human rights norms." Such a law would allow the establishment of independent political parties.

"The Syrian people want real reforms, and such reforms cannot take place as long as Syria's security services are above the law and can violate people's basic rights at will," Stork said.

CNN's Joe Sterling, Arwa Damon, Nada Husseini and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report

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