Syrian opposition to rally in support of prisoners

Jan 20, 2012, 7:50 GMT

Beirut - Syrian activists called Friday for protests to be held across Syria to express support for the thousands of prisoners who are being held by the regime since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

'Let us rally in support of the Revolution's prisoner,' read a banner posted on the Facebook page of the opposition Syrian Revolution 2011.

The protests came as al-Assad reiterated his appeal for unity and Arabism.

'The Syrian people's awareness of the dimensions of the plot against Syria is the main guarantee for the success of Syria and bolstering the firm national principles,' al-Assad was quoted by the state-run SANA news agency as saying.

Meanwhile, activists said security forces were being deployed around the areas near the capital Damascus normally used by anti-regime protests after their weekly Friday prayers.

Violence in Syria intensified this week, despite the presence of Arab observers.

On Thursday, 28 people were killed. Among them a Syrian general who was allegedly killed by his own soldiers after he had ordered them to fire on civilians, activists claimed.

Despite the violence, the head of the Arab League's observer mission in Syria, Sudanese General Mohamed al-Dabi, said 'the mission will continue its task.'

Arab media quoted unnamed Arab League sources as saying that al-Dabi has delayed his arrival to Cairo until Saturday in order to finish his report, which he is due to present to Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on Sunday.