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Witnesses: Syrian Troops Open Fire at Protest in South

   VOA News  March 28, 2011
   Anti-Syrian government protesters, stand next to burning tires as they
   protest  in  the southern city of Daraa, Syria. Syrian security forces
   shot live ammunition and tear gas early Wednesday near a mos

Photo: AP

   Anti-Syrian government protesters, stand next to burning tires as they
   protest  in  the southern city of Daraa, Syria. Syrian security forces
   shot  live ammunition and tear gas early Wednesday near a mosque where
   protesters  have been camped out in southern Syria, killing six people
   including a paramedic, activists said, March 23, 2011

   Witnesses   say   Syrian   security   forces   have   opened  fire  at
   anti-government   protests  in  the  southern  city  of  Daraa,  where
   residents chanted slogans calling for more political freedoms.
   It  was  not clear if the security personnel were firing in the air or
   at  the  hundreds  of  activists  who gathered on Monday in Daraa, the
   focal  point of more than a week of protests against the authoritarian
   government  of President Bashar Assad. There were no immediate reports
   of casualties.
   Dozens of people have been killed in the protests, which expanded last
   Friday from Daraa to other Syrian cities including the port of Latakia
   and the capital, Damascus.
   Syrian  officials  say at least 12 people were killed in the unrest in
   Latakia  on Friday and Saturday. Witnesses and human rights groups say
   government  forces  fired  on protesters. Authorities blame extremists
   for inciting the violence.
   Latakia   residents   set   up  barricades  Monday  to  protect  their
   neighborhoods  against  armed  gangs  roaming  the streets, which were
   mostly  deserted. The Syrian government deployed troops in the city on
   Sunday to restore order.
   Syrian  officials  say  Assad  will  address  the nation by Tuesday to
   announce major reforms aimed at meeting the aspirations of the public.
   No  details  have  been  released.  The protests that began this month
   represent  the  biggest  challenge  to  the Syrian president's 11-year
   rule.

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

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