Sat Mar 19, 2011

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syrian security forces on Saturday fired tear gas at mourners burying two protesters killed in the southern city of Daraa, wounding several people, an activist said, as a rights group reported dozens of arrests.

"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.
He said several people had inhaled tear gas or were injured when panicked mourners began to push their way through the crowd, which had been chanting "God, Syria, freedom."

State-run news agency SANA, which on Friday reported "acts of violence and sabotage" in Daraa, on Saturday announced the country had formed a committee to investigate the "regrettable" events.

"A Syrian official said the committee would take the necessary measures to hold accountable anyone found responsible for these events during the investigation," SANA reported.
Since Tuesday, Syria -- which is still under a 1963 emergency law which bans demonstrations -- has witnessed a string of small impromptu rallies

Rights groups and activists have accused security forces of killing at least four protesters at a rally on Friday in Daraa, a city which is home to large, tribal families.
Another activist who had been at the funeral reported "extreme agitation" in Daraa and more arrests, a charge echoed by a London-based rights group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"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 centre of Daraa, to be met by tear gas," the activist added.

The Syrian Observatory said "dozens of protesters" had been arrested on Friday in protests in Daraa and other cities, during a "Day of Dignity" planned by a Facebook group that has emerged as a major mobilising force.
The group, Syrian Revolution 2011, which carries an Arabic version of its name that translates as "The Syrian Revolt against (President) Bashar al-Assad," wants more protests and has attracted 56,000 supporters.

Another unofficial group, "March 15 Revolution," named after the first of unprecedented rallies in Syria, on Saturday posted a statement on Facebook holding the state squarely responsible for the deaths in Daraa.
Small daily protests have been staged since Tuesday in the Old City of Damascus, demanding the release of political prisoners and reforms at a time of popular uprisings across the Middle East.
Apart from Daraa, the largest protests on Friday were reported in the coastal town of Banias and Homs, north of the capital.

In Damascus, AFP reporters saw plainclothes police dragging away at least two activists Friday who had apparently began to chant "freedom" after Muslim weekly prayers at the main mosque.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 32 activists detained during a rally on Wednesday have been charged with causing damage to the reputation of the state.

Human Rights Watch said at least 18 activists were rounded up at Wednesday's rally outside the interior ministry.
Rights groups said on Saturday that 10 women among the detained activists -- including Leyla Labwani and Ruba Labwani, relatives of opposition figure Kamal Labwani who is serving 12 years in jail -- have gone on hunger strike.
"All the women jailed after the peaceful protest Wednesday outside the interior ministry have begun an open-ended hunger strike in Duma detention centre for women," said the Syrian League for Human Rights, an umbrella group.