Ten killed in protest in south Syria: Official

Protesters and security forces clash in southern Syrian city of Sanamen.

DAMASCUS:

At least 10 people were killed on Friday in clashes between protesters and security forces in the southern Syrian city of Sanamen, a high-ranking official told AFP.

“Ten people were unfortuantely killed today in clashes in Sanamen,” the official said without giving details.

An activist in Deraa, a tribal town 100 kilometres south of Damascus, that has been the epicentre of the Syria protests, said at least 17 people were killed in Sanamen when security forces opened fire.

Another said eight people had been killed in the procession, which was making its way to Deraa. Their figures could not be confirmed by independent sources.

In Washington, the United States called on the Syrian government to stop violence against demonstrators and the arrests of human rights activists, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Friday.

The situation is calm in Syria, al Arabiya television quoted the information minister as saying on Friday, as protests spread across the country.

A leading Syrian opposition figure called on the international community to intervene to stop “the massacres against civilians by Bashar al Assad’s regime” in protests across Syria.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2011.