Syrian security forces 'fire on funeral'

[Turborama]

Source: Al Jazeera English

Fresh violence is said to have erupted as residents in Daraa bury those killed in Friday's protests.

Last Modified: Apr 09 2011 14:56

Syrian security forces opened fire on mourners near the old Omari mosque in the southern border city of Daraa following a mass funeral for dead pro-democracy protestors, witnesses told the Reuters news agency.

The witnesses said security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse thousands of Syrians who were chanting freedom slogans after assembling close to the mosque in the old quarter of the city near the border with Jordan on Saturday.

This comes after residents in the Sunni district of Latakia said security forces used live ammunition in the early hours of Saturday to disperse a pro-democracy protest by hundreds of people there.

Protests have spread across Syria, challenging the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, and dozens of demonstrators have been killed. A Syrian rights group - the National Organisation for Human Rights - has said at least 37 were killed across the country on Friday alone.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/04/20114914714209594.html

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If anyone wants to catch up with what's been going on in Syria since this started, search for Keyword: Syria, Author: Turborama, choose from February 01 2011 for the start date and there'll be 17 results, including this one, in LBN (and 2 if you choose the videos forum search).

[SkyDaddy7]

1. My wife & I were watching Al Jazeera this AM...

And we were both talking about how awful it would be to live in a country like Syria or Iran...At least here the ruling class has not taken to mowing folks down at the funerals of the folks they mowed down not even 24hrs before. I guess there is something to be thankful for.

[No Elephants]

2. Monstrous.

[David__77]

3. What a mess.,,

I hope that it is not true that mourners were attacked as claimed. If so, I wonder if the Syrian state is completely foolish or on the other hand lacks any discipline and organization whatsoever. The Syrian state has been pretty crude and stupid in its actions thus far. Of course, it probably does not matter either way, since it can probably crush active, overt opposition with whatever strategy it chooses to employ.

Al Jazeera has a unique editorial policy regarding such protests. I note that their editorial policy is to always refer to them as "pro-democracy protests," and not "anti-government protests," as with many US media outlets. Those US outlets will refer to "pro-democracy activists" but "anti-government protests." I think US media are a bit more restrained in their editorial policy regarding mass movement there.

[pampango]

4. Video from Euronews.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brxLtEKRFMo