3ND Death toll in Syria rises to 75

Apr 22, 2011, 21:07 GMT

Damascus/Cairo - A reported 75 people were killed in the Syrian government's crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators, on what President Bashar al-Assad's opponents quickly dubbed the 'Good Friday Massacre.'

Amnesty International said 75 people have died, which would make Friday the deadliest single day during five weeks so far of mass protests against al-Assad's regime. Activists told the German Press Agency dpa that the death toll was at least 70, based on their count from hospital sources.

Many more people were believed to have suffered serious injuries. Amnesty said young children were among the dead.

An activist from the city of Homs, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than 100 protesters were wounded, many of them in critical condition. Homs has been the cite of some of Syria's fiercest clashes.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported late Friday that security forces intervened in the protests, firing tear gas and water cannons 'to prevent clashes between protesters and citizens and protect public property.'

'There were some wounded in these confrontations,' which SANA said took place in Harasta and Hajar Asswad near Damascus, as well as in Hama and Hasaka in north-eastern Syria.

The protests came a day after al-Assad approved a decree scrapping nearly five decades of emergency rule and abolishing state security courts that operated outside the normal judicial system.

But that was not enough to quell the protests, which appear to be growing in strength.

The Syrian Revolution 2011 posted on Facebook a list of fatalities in various cities, totalling 59 dead: 'Azraa 18, Hirak 1, al- Maadamiyah 9, Douma 5, Baraza 1, al-Hajar al-Asswad 5, Harasta 3, Jobar 1, Homs 16.'

Razan Zeitouna, a Syrian lawyer and a human rights activist, said that security forces confronted the protesters with live ammunition after they exited mosques following Friday prayers. She told dpa: 'The same pattern was used to confront protests in Damascus, the capital, and towns and cities to the east, west and south.'

Amnesty called for an immediate end to the attacks on protesters and for an investigation into the deadly events.

'The Syrian authorities have again responded to peaceful calls for change with bullets and batons,' said Malcolm Smart, the London-based organization's director for the Middle East. 'They must immediately halt their attacks on peaceful protesters and instead allow Syrians to gather freely, as international law demands.'

A Syrian activist reached by dpa earlier said most of the dead were in the city of Azraa, near Daraa.

'Snipers were positioned on buildings and shot at the demonstrators, killing 18 people in Azraa, among them a toddler,' the activist said, quoting hospital sources in Daraa.

'This regime is committing a massacre against its own people,' he said, adding that most of the dead received direct shots to the head.

State-run media reported that 'unidentified gunmen fired at the protesters in Homs and also attacked a police station.' Syrian security forces managed to arrest 'many members of the armed gunmen,' the agency reported.

The president and state media have repeatedly blamed conspirators for the deadly unrest surrounding anti-government protests. Protesters are seeking broad reforms and greater freedom. Some have gone further, calling for al-Assad's ouster.

Parliament member Khaled Aboud told Al-Jazeera that 'this is a conspiracy against Syria' and that '90 per cent of Syrians' do not believe reports by the Qatar-based satellite broadcaster, which has aired pictures of the protests.

Protesters were seen tearing apart posters of al-Assad, carrying long flags and banners reading: 'Point your gun to my body as you wish, I will not let go of my demands,' and 'Syrian media is lying.'

Christian churches across the country cancelled outdoor Good Friday services and street processions ahead of the protests. According to New York-based Human Rights Watch, al-Assad's decision to lift the state of emergency should be accompanied by concrete measures to halt grave daily human rights violations being committed by security forces.

'The reforms will only be meaningful if Syria's security services stop shooting, detaining and torturing protesters,' said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

In Washington, the United States condemned the violence and called on the Syrian government to enact previously promised reforms.

'We deplore the use of violence, and we're very concerned about the reports we've seen from Syria,' White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters travelling with Presidnet Barack Obama. 'We are monitoring it very closely (and) call on the Syrian government to cease and desist from the use of violence against peaceful protestors.'

Read more about Syria Unrest