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    October 07, 2011

Troops Kill 7 Protesters in Syria

   VOA News
   Syrian soldiers at a checkpoint northeast of Damascus, Aug. 29, 2011.
   Photo: AFP
   Syrian soldiers at a checkpoint northeast of Damascus, Aug. 29, 2011.

   Activists say Syrian security forces have opened fire on
   anti-government protesters, killing at least seven people.
   The deaths took place on Friday, as thousands of demonstrators poured
   onto streets across the country with renewed calls for President Bashar
   al-Assad's departure.
   Meanwhile, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad blamed much of
   his country's deadly unrest on "terrorists." In a speech to the United
   Nations Human Rights Council on Friday, he said criminals had killed
   more than 1,100 people in the country.
   The world body, which is meeting in Geneva, is reviewing Syria's
   response to the pro-reform rallies. The meeting is taking place a day
   after the U.N. raised its death toll from Syria's seven-month crackdown
   on dissent to 2,900.
   In another development, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday
   that Assad will have to give up power if he cannot carry out reforms.
   Russia and China both vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution
   on Tuesday that condemned Syria for its crackdown on civilian
   protesters.
   On Monday, a Syrian delegation including opposition leaders will visit
   Moscow.

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

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