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Syrian Security Forces Seal Deraa After Protests

   VOA News  March 21, 2011
   A  Syrian municipality worker sprays water at a burnt car that was set
   on  fire by Syrian anti-government protesters, in the southern city of
   Deraa, Syria, March 21, 2011

Photo: AP

   A  Syrian municipality worker sprays water at a burnt car that was set
   on  fire by Syrian anti-government protesters, in the southern city of
   Deraa, Syria, March 21, 2011

   Residents  of  the  Syrian  city  of Deraa say the security forces are
   trying  to  seal  off  their  community  after days of anti-government
   protests  that  led to deadly confrontations in which five people were
   killed.
   Syrian  opposition  activists  gathered  again Monday in Deraa for the
   funeral of a man killed a day earlier, when residents say police fired
   live  ammunition  and  tear gas at demonstrators. Some of the mourners
   chanted slogans denouncing the crackdown on the city.
   Thousands  of  people had rallied in Deraa Sunday, demanding political
   freedoms,  an  end  to corruption, the release of political prisoners,
   and trials for security personnel who fired at protesters. Some people
   set fire to government buildings.
   Rights   activists   say   security   forces   shot  and  killed  four
   demonstrators in the southern city on Friday, when the unrest began.
   U.S.-based  rights group Human Rights Watch called on Syrian President
   Bashar  al-Assad's  government  to  stop  live  fire and what it calls
   "excessive  force"  against  protesters.  The  group  said Monday that
   Damascus  has  shown  "no  qualms" about shooting its own citizens for
   speaking  out.  It  said  Syrians  have  shown "incredible courage" in
   daring  to protest publicly against what the rights group described as
   "one of the most repressive governments in the region."
   Syrian  authorities denied responsibility for the violence, blaming it
   instead on "trouble makers."

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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