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Masses protest across Syria in wake of Hama crackdown
Tens of thousands of Syrians flood streets in growing demand for Assad's end. Damascus armed forces fire at protesters, kill 10
Tens of thousands of Syrian demonstrators took to the streets outside Damascus Friday, in wake of the repeated, lethal military assaults on the besieged city of Hama.
The growing toll of civilian deaths has intensifies international condemnation of the Syrian regime, but Damascus remains undeterred.
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Reports emerging from Syria said security forces opened fire on protesters, killing at least 10 people.
Still, masses poured into streets across the country, chanting for the fall of President Bashar Assad and defying a fierce military siege of Hama, where tanks shelled residential districts around dawn.
Protests spread from the capital, Damascus, to the southern province of Daraa and to Deir ez-Zor in the east. Other demonstrations were reported in Homs in the center and in Qamishli, near the Turkish border.
"Hama, we are with you until death," a crowd marching through Damascus' central neighborhood of Midan shouted. Others chanted "We don't want you Bashar" and "Bashar Leave."
In another district of the capital, Qadam, protesters carried a banner reading, "Bashar is slaughtering the people and the international community is silent."
State-run Syrian Television reported that two policemen were killed and eight others wounded, when they were ambushed in the northern town of Maarat al-Numan.
Damascus' SANA news agency added that the Syrian army was "restoring "security and stability" to Hama and other areas that have been "taken over by terrorists."
"Because of the crackdown in Hama, people all over went out on the streets in solidarity," an Opposition spokesman said. "This is what happens when the government tries to stop us."
Under siege. Hama (Photo: EPA)
Meanwhile, several hundred people rallied Friday outside the Syrian Embassy in Cairo in protest of the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in the country.
Protesters were chanting "Free Syria, Bashar out," "The people demand the departure of the ambassador," and "By our soul, our blood, we sacrifice ourselves for you Hama." Others were waving various protest signs, including one depicting Assad crossed with a "Get out, Nazi" slogan.
The Muslim Brotherhood called on its supporters in Egypt to mark Friday as a day of solidarity with the Arab peoples, especially in Syria.
Also on Friday, Kuwait's Foreign Ministry expressed the cabinet's "extreme pain" over the violence in Syria, urging a dialogue which would bring "true reforms that meet the legitimate demands of the Syrian people, away from the security actions."
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council adopted a statement condemning the Syrian government for ongoing human rights violations, including the use of excessive force against civilians.
AP and AFP contributed to this report
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