Report: Protesters wounded during Syria funeral
Mourners burying two people killed during anti-government protests attacked by security forces in southern city of Daraa; several wounded
Syrian security forces fired tear gas Saturday on mourners burying two men who were killed in an earlier protest in the southern city of Daraa, wounding several, rights activists said.
The latest violence came as a Facebook page, one of the motors behind an unprecedented string of protests in Syria, called for a Saturday rally in the city of Homs, north of Damascus.
The fresh call for protests in the Middle Eastern country infamous for its tight grip on security came one day after rights groups reported that security forces killed at least three people and wounded hundreds in a rally in the southern city of Daraa.
Friday's incident came as residents of Daraa, a traditional city home to large, tribal families, attended the funerals of two of the victims.
"Thousands of people at the funerals of Akram al-Jawabra and Hussam Abdelwali Ayash were surrounded by large numbers of security men who fired tear gas at the mourners to disperse them," the activist said, quoting witnesses.
'God, Syria, freedom'
He said several people inhaled tear gas or were injured when they began to push their way through the crowd, which had been chanting "God, Syria, freedom," in panic. Another activist said Daraa was in a state of extreme agitation.
"Dozens of people were arrested today and a protester who was wounded on Friday, Adnan Akrad, died," he said.
"More than 10,000 attended the funerals but the bodies were buried without prayers being recited in the mosque."
After the burial the crowd headed for the center of Daraa, to be met by tear gas," the activist added.
Watch protests in Daraa
Impromptu protests have erupted in Damascus and other cities for four days, with Facebook group The Syrian Revolution 2011 – which also carries an Arabic version of its title translating as "The Syrian Revolt against (President) Bashar al-Assad" – emerging as a major mobilizing force behind the unprecedented events in Syria.
The group, which has called several days of protest with different degrees of success, on Saturday disclosed the location of the demonstration in advance, a bold gesture in Syria, which remains under a 1963 emergency law that bans protests.
Demonstrations in Syria on Friday marking a "Day of Dignity" were also reported in the coastal town of Banias and in Homs.
'Acts of sabotage'
In Damascus, reporters saw plain-clothes police dragging away at least two activists Friday who had apparently began to chant "freedom" after prayer at the main mosque.
Syria's state news agency SANA confirmed violence and "acts of sabotage" had broken out in Daraa, where Friday's killings were reported, and said security forces had intervened to control the situation.
An unofficial group that has dubbed itself "the March 15 revolution," after the first of four days of rallies, posted on Saturday a statement on Facebook holding the state squarely responsible for the deaths in Daraa.
Small protests have erupted since March 15 in the Old City of Damascus, demanding the release of political prisoners and reforms amid a wave of popular uprisings across the Middle East.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said authorities have charged 32 activists detained during a rally Wednesday with attacking the reputation of the state.
Human Rights Watch confirmed the detention of 18 activists in Wednesday's rally outside the interior ministry.
Rights groups on Saturday said 10 women activists detained in the protest had launched a hunger strike.
"All women jailed after the peaceful protest Wednesday outside the interior ministry have begun an open-ended hunger strike in the Duma detention centre for women," said the Syrian League for Human Rights, an umbrella group of several rights monitors.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
