Witnesses say Syrian troops have opened fire on anti-government protesters in Daraa Friday as thousands take to the streets demanding reforms and mourning dozens of protesters who were killed during a violent, weeklong crackdown.
A resident, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, tells the Associated Press heavy gunfire can be heard in the city center and witnesses have reported several casualties.
He told AP that the shooting started after protesters set fire to a bronze statue of late President Hafez Assad, President Bashar's Assad's father.
One witness tells Reuters that at least 20 people were killed when Syrian forces fired on protesters in Sanamein.
Daraa, the main city of southern Syria's drought-parched agricultural heartland, has become a flashpoint for protests in a country whose leadership stands unafraid of using extreme violence to quash internal unrest. The coming days will be a crucial test of the surge of popular discontent that has unseated autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt and threatens to push several others from power.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/25/tens-thousands-anti-government-protesters-rally-syria
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