CAIRO: Human Rights Watch called on Syria’s president to rein in his security forces and stop them from firing on anti-government demonstrators.
“President Bashar Assad should immediately order Syrian security forces to stop using unjustified lethal force against anti-government protesters,” the group said in a statement late Tuesday.

Citing lists compiled by Syrian rights groups, HRW said the number of demonstrators and bystanders killed since protests erupted in Syria mid-March was at least 100.
“For three weeks, Syria’s security forces have been firing on largely peaceful protesters,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East director.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) in Paris has said 123 people were killed in anti-government demonstrations up to Friday April 1, when unrest struck Douma, a suburb north of Damascus. At least eight people, but perhaps as many as 15, were killed that Friday in Douma when men in civilian clothes, suspected by witnesses to be security services, opened fire on protesters, HRW said.

It listed the names of the eight people buried in a mass funeral in Douma Sunday and added that, according to Syrian human rights activists, seven additional protesters who died the same day were buried elsewhere.

It called on the president to set up a committee to investigate the shootings in Douma, as he did for the killings of protesters in the cities of Daraa and Latakia, and to hold those responsible accountable. “The government should investigate each shooting, and hold accountable anyone responsible for the unlawful use of force,” said the rights group. Protesters in Douma cited by HRW said they were chanting “peaceful, peaceful” when clashes broke out with riot police who resorted to tear gas and beating demonstrators in an effort to snuff out the Friday rally.
An unidentified official told the official SANA news agency that an unknown “armed group” shot at both protesters and security forces from rooftops.

Six Syrian rights organizations said Wednesday in a joint statement they favored forming a neutral investigative committee that includes human rights activists to identify the perpetrators of violence and bring them to justice. – AFP