BEIRUT: The death toll from Syria’s crackdown on a nine-week uprising has exceeded 1,000, a prominent human rights group said Tuesday, as the country’s opposition called for fresh protests and clearer goals.

Amar Qurabi, head of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, told the Associated Press that the opposition was planning a conference in Turkey to find a common voice for its anti-government movement.
Qurabi said his group has documented the names of 1,062 people who have died since the uprising erupted in mid-March. He added that preparations were under way for the opposition conference, which will include opposition figures, writers, journalists and activists. Some 250 participants are so far set to attend the meeting, planned for the end of May or early June, he said.

“The idea is to … show that the opposition can put aside ideological differences and unify under the banner of freedom,” he said.
Syrian President Bashar Assad appears determined to crush the revolt, which is challenging his family’s 40-year-old dynasty. Assad told his ally Russia Tuesday he intended to continue fighting “radical and fundamentalist” forces in the Arab country, the Kremlin said.

“Bashar Assad said the Syrian leadership is doing and will continue to do everything to allow for the free expression of Syrian citizens’ will,” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s office said in a statement. “At the same time, Syria will not stand for the actions of radical and fundamentalist groups,” the statement added.
The harsh crackdown has triggered international outrage and U.S. and European sanctions, including an EU assets freeze and a visa ban on Assad and nine members of his regime.
Syrian activists called for a fresh wave of protests in eastern and northern Syria for Wednesday.