Huge rallies staged across many Syrian cities
Protesters have rallied against the government in huge numbers across many Syrian cities, in a day dubbed the "Friday for revolutionary detainees". The demonstrations comes as Arab League peace monitors are set to meet with the bloc's foreign ministers in Cairo on Sunday to decide their future course of action after the culmination of their one-month mission in the country.
Security forces prevented worshippers attending the Omari mosque in the southern town of Deraa, cradle of a 10-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. The forces were out in full force as protests began in Aleppo, Latakia and Idlib, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
Meanwhile, Ahmad el-Tayyeb, the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, urged "Arab rulers to take the necessary measures to halt bloodshed in Syria", the state news agency MENA quoted him as saying on Friday.
Al Jazeera's Khodr said: "Undoubtedly, the Arab League is divided and when you talk to any Syrian activist or protesters on the streets they will tell you the Arab League will not be able to come up with a united stance."
"So, most of people on the streets have lost faith in this mission, they don’t believe it [Arab mission] has been able to stop the violence. They don’t even understand its mandate," she said. "That’s why there are growing calls for the Arab League to refer the file to UN Security Council."
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/01/2012120142243339195.html
It is still amazing that these huge rallies persist and grow after 10 months of security force repression. Kudos to the Syrian people. I hope they achieve their goal.