Syria protesters call for international protection
AFP
DAMASCUS- Syrian forces killed again Friday as they opened fire to disperse protesters calling for international protection, as activists urged Russia to support both them and global condemnation of a crackdown on dissent.
At least five people, including a teenager, were killed by army gunfire as protests erupted across the country and in Damascus after the weekly midday Muslim prayers, activists said.
A sixth person died from wounds suffered on Wednesday.
On the diplomatic front, the United States will ramp up work next week on a UN Security Council resolution targeting Syria, the State Department said, as Russia continues to resist pressure for a forceful resolution.
"We're looking at accelerating that work next week," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in reference to a draft resolution likely to include sanctions.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a blistering attack on Syria, saying Assad could lose power over the bloody crackdown, while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offered to host a meeting of Muslim nations to help neighbouring ally Syria solve the crisis.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a 15-year-old boy was shot dead by troops manning a checkpoint in the northwestern village of Al-Rama and security forces fired on protesters in another village in the area.
The rebellious central city of Homs was swept by protests, including one rally of an estimated 20,000 people demanding the regime's fall, the Observatory said.
It also reported "huge protests" in the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor and in various Damascus neighbourhoods including in flashpoint Barza where 150 people marched chanting slogans "for the protection of Syria."
Videos posted on the Internet showed crowds of protesters in Barza with some carrying signs saying: "We want Russia and China to change their position towards this regime."
In Homs, demonstrators on YouTube videos were heard chanting, "Long live Free Syria," and in the central city of Hama they held up signs that read, "Bashar, Game Over" and "The people want to execute the president."
The Local Coordination Committees group, which has activists on the ground, also reported protests in the southern city of Sweida and said more than 10,000 rallied in Ibleen.
Activists also reported that forces opened fire, used tear gas and pump-action shotguns to disperse about 1,000 protesters in Damascus suburbs, the LCC said.
None of the reports could be independently verified as Syria bans correspondents from reporting on the unrest.
The United Nations says 2,200 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since pro-democracy protests flared in Syria in mid-March.
Democracy activists called for international observers and urged support from Syria's key ally Russia a day after President Dmitry Medvedev said some protesters were "terrorists" -- echoing Assad's own words.
"The Syrian people call on the United Nations to adopt a resolution to SET up a permanent observer mission in Syria," the activists said on the "Syrian Revolution 2011" Facebook page.
The crackdown has infuriated world powers, some of which imposed sanctions on the regime, with fresh pressure piled on Assad from neighbouring Turkey.
"He who bases his power on bloodshed will end up leaving in a trail of blood," Erdogan told Al-Jazeera television on Thursday, adding that "shadows loom over the legitimacy" of Assad.
Even Russia, a historic partner of Syria that provides it with most of its weapons, and Iran, have urged Syria and the opposition to launch a dialogue and refrain from violence.
Medvedev said Thursday the Syrian authorities had been guilty of using "disproportionate force" against protesters, calling some of them "terrorists."
And he reiterated Russian opposition to backing "unilateral condemnation" of Syria such as a UN Security Council resolution, as a delegation of Syrian activists visited Moscow seeking support.
"Russia should be playing a more active and positive role in regulating the political situation in Syria," the head of Syria's National Organisation for Human Rights, Ammar Qorabi, said in Moscow.
Speaking after meeting the Russian upper house of parliament's foreign affairs chief Mikhail Margelov, Qorabi said he hoped Russian media would "help us and put pressure on the Russian leadership."
Margelov said he would meet Syrian presidential adviser Buthaina Shaaban on Monday and try to get approval to send a delegation of Russian senators to Damascus.
Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, said "Iran is ready to host a meeting of Islamic countries to reach a collective understanding in order to help Syria," his website reported.
Iran accuses Israel and the United States of stirring up trouble in Syria. On August 24 Ahmadinejad warned violence "serves the interests of the Zionists."
Meanwhile Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi was due to visit Syria on Saturday -- three days later than planned -- with a 13-point document outlining Arab proposals to end the crisis and launch reforms.
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On the diplomatic front, the United States will ramp up work next week on a UN Security Council resolution targeting Syria, the State Department said, as Russia continues to resist pressure for a forceful resolution.
"We're looking at accelerating that work next week," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in reference to a draft resolution likely to include sanctions.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a blistering attack on Syria, saying Assad could lose power over the bloody crackdown, while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offered to host a meeting of Muslim nations to help neighbouring ally Syria solve the crisis.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a 15-year-old boy was shot dead by troops manning a checkpoint in the northwestern village of Al-Rama and security forces fired on protesters in another village in the area.
The rebellious central city of Homs was swept by protests, including one rally of an estimated 20,000 people demanding the regime's fall, the Observatory said.
It also reported "huge protests" in the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor and in various Damascus neighbourhoods including in flashpoint Barza where 150 people marched chanting slogans "for the protection of Syria."
Videos posted on the Internet showed crowds of protesters in Barza with some carrying signs saying: "We want Russia and China to change their position towards this regime."
In Homs, demonstrators on YouTube videos were heard chanting, "Long live Free Syria," and in the central city of Hama they held up signs that read, "Bashar, Game Over" and "The people want to execute the president."
The Local Coordination Committees group, which has activists on the ground, also reported protests in the southern city of Sweida and said more than 10,000 rallied in Ibleen.
Activists also reported that forces opened fire, used tear gas and pump-action shotguns to disperse about 1,000 protesters in Damascus suburbs, the LCC said.
None of the reports could be independently verified as Syria bans correspondents from reporting on the unrest.
The United Nations says 2,200 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since pro-democracy protests flared in Syria in mid-March.
Democracy activists called for international observers and urged support from Syria's key ally Russia a day after President Dmitry Medvedev said some protesters were "terrorists" -- echoing Assad's own words.
"The Syrian people call on the United Nations to adopt a resolution to SET up a permanent observer mission in Syria," the activists said on the "Syrian Revolution 2011" Facebook page.
The crackdown has infuriated world powers, some of which imposed sanctions on the regime, with fresh pressure piled on Assad from neighbouring Turkey.
"He who bases his power on bloodshed will end up leaving in a trail of blood," Erdogan told Al-Jazeera television on Thursday, adding that "shadows loom over the legitimacy" of Assad.
Even Russia, a historic partner of Syria that provides it with most of its weapons, and Iran, have urged Syria and the opposition to launch a dialogue and refrain from violence.
Medvedev said Thursday the Syrian authorities had been guilty of using "disproportionate force" against protesters, calling some of them "terrorists."
And he reiterated Russian opposition to backing "unilateral condemnation" of Syria such as a UN Security Council resolution, as a delegation of Syrian activists visited Moscow seeking support.
"Russia should be playing a more active and positive role in regulating the political situation in Syria," the head of Syria's National Organisation for Human Rights, Ammar Qorabi, said in Moscow.
Speaking after meeting the Russian upper house of parliament's foreign affairs chief Mikhail Margelov, Qorabi said he hoped Russian media would "help us and put pressure on the Russian leadership."
Margelov said he would meet Syrian presidential adviser Buthaina Shaaban on Monday and try to get approval to send a delegation of Russian senators to Damascus.
Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, said "Iran is ready to host a meeting of Islamic countries to reach a collective understanding in order to help Syria," his website reported.
Iran accuses Israel and the United States of stirring up trouble in Syria. On August 24 Ahmadinejad warned violence "serves the interests of the Zionists."
Meanwhile Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi was due to visit Syria on Saturday -- three days later than planned -- with a 13-point document outlining Arab proposals to end the crisis and launch reforms.
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