Syrian Forces Open Fire at Protesters’ Funerals
By ANTHONY SHADID
Published: April 23, 2011
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian security forces fired their weapons into crowds of mourners in at least three towns on Saturday as tens of thousands of people buried protesters who were killed a day earlier in the worst bloodshed since the uprising began last month. Human rights activists and witnesses said at least 11 people were killed on Saturday.
Associated Press
A mobile phone image of anti-government protesters in Izraa, Syria, at a funeral procession on Saturday for slain activists.
Multimedia
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The death toll from the protests on Friday, one of the bloodiest days in the so-called Arab Spring, had risen by Saturday to 109 people, a number that activists said was likely to rise as more bodies were returned to their families. Another group said 114 people had been killed.
The bloodshed on Saturday followed a pattern seen frequently in the tumult that has swept the Arab world. Funerals have often turned to demonstrations, where more have been killed by security forces bent on crushing dissent against authoritarian leaders. While Saturday’s death toll paled in comparison with the number killed on Friday, it suggested that the country might be entering a prolonged period of turmoil as protesters continue to press the greatest challenge to the Assad family’s four decades of rule.
President Bashar al-Assad’s government has struggled to cope with the unrest, offering concessions that would have been startling at one time, while using violence against those who persist in demonstrations. Though the revolt has drawn large numbers into the streets since it started on March 15, it has yet to achieve the critical mass of revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. However, organizers say they believe the bloodshed may draw more people into the uprising’s fold.
In a possible sign of cracks in the government’s facade, two members of Syria’s largely powerless Parliament resigned on Saturday. The two, Khalil al-Rifai and Nasser al-Hariri, both independent lawmakers from Dara’a, where the uprising started, told Al Jazeera that they were resigning to protest the killing of demonstrators.
Wissam Tarif, the executive director of Insan, a human rights group, said that security forces fired live ammunition at mourners after they buried their dead. The funerals soon became protests, with calls for the fall of Mr. Assad, who inherited power from his father, Hafez, in 2000. Such demands, uttered publicly, were once unheard of and serve as a marker of how outrage is overcoming fear in the repressive state.
Mr. Tarif said 11 people were killed in towns on the outskirts of Damascus, where some of the worst bloodshed was reported Friday: Douma, Barza, Maadamiah and Qabon. Others were reported killed in Azra, but activists had yet to confirm their names.
In Barza, a witness who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal said that at least 1,000 mourners came under fire as they prepared to bury four men and two children, one 7 years old and the other 14. The witness said security forces aimed directly at the mourners, many of whom sought shelter in the nearby Al-Salam mosque.
He said the shooting lasted at least 10 minutes. Religious leaders inside the mosque pleaded on loudspeakers for security forces to stop firing at unarmed protesters and called for medical help for the wounded.
“They shot directly at people, and all hell broke lose,” the witness said. “We could hear voices of children and people screaming frantically. We don’t know how many were killed, but we heard one saying on the phone that four of his neighbors were killed and many were injured.”
In Douma, another town on the outskirts of Damascus, at least 1,500 mourners marched from the main mosque to the cemetery, a witness said. As they approached a government building, police in plain clothes began firing at them, in barrages that lasted three hours.
“I saw people killed in front of me,” the witness said. “People were on the ground wounded, and no could assist them, help them or get to them.”
His voice turned angry. “How much people can take, we don’t know,” he said. “They’re not going to get killed every day and just keep watching. If we’re going to pay with our lives for the president’s reforms, then we don’t want his reforms.”
Friday’s violence started after the noon prayers, when thousands gathered in protest. Their demands have grown since the uprising began: from calls for reform to demands that President Assad step down.
In at least two towns, protesters tore down Mr. Assad’s picture and wrecked statues of his father.
The bloodshed on Saturday followed a pattern seen frequently in the tumult that has swept the Arab world. Funerals have often turned to demonstrations, where more have been killed by security forces bent on crushing dissent against authoritarian leaders. While Saturday’s death toll paled in comparison with the number killed on Friday, it suggested that the country might be entering a prolonged period of turmoil as protesters continue to press the greatest challenge to the Assad family’s four decades of rule.
President Bashar al-Assad’s government has struggled to cope with the unrest, offering concessions that would have been startling at one time, while using violence against those who persist in demonstrations. Though the revolt has drawn large numbers into the streets since it started on March 15, it has yet to achieve the critical mass of revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. However, organizers say they believe the bloodshed may draw more people into the uprising’s fold.
In a possible sign of cracks in the government’s facade, two members of Syria’s largely powerless Parliament resigned on Saturday. The two, Khalil al-Rifai and Nasser al-Hariri, both independent lawmakers from Dara’a, where the uprising started, told Al Jazeera that they were resigning to protest the killing of demonstrators.
Wissam Tarif, the executive director of Insan, a human rights group, said that security forces fired live ammunition at mourners after they buried their dead. The funerals soon became protests, with calls for the fall of Mr. Assad, who inherited power from his father, Hafez, in 2000. Such demands, uttered publicly, were once unheard of and serve as a marker of how outrage is overcoming fear in the repressive state.
Mr. Tarif said 11 people were killed in towns on the outskirts of Damascus, where some of the worst bloodshed was reported Friday: Douma, Barza, Maadamiah and Qabon. Others were reported killed in Azra, but activists had yet to confirm their names.
In Barza, a witness who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal said that at least 1,000 mourners came under fire as they prepared to bury four men and two children, one 7 years old and the other 14. The witness said security forces aimed directly at the mourners, many of whom sought shelter in the nearby Al-Salam mosque.
He said the shooting lasted at least 10 minutes. Religious leaders inside the mosque pleaded on loudspeakers for security forces to stop firing at unarmed protesters and called for medical help for the wounded.
“They shot directly at people, and all hell broke lose,” the witness said. “We could hear voices of children and people screaming frantically. We don’t know how many were killed, but we heard one saying on the phone that four of his neighbors were killed and many were injured.”
In Douma, another town on the outskirts of Damascus, at least 1,500 mourners marched from the main mosque to the cemetery, a witness said. As they approached a government building, police in plain clothes began firing at them, in barrages that lasted three hours.
“I saw people killed in front of me,” the witness said. “People were on the ground wounded, and no could assist them, help them or get to them.”
His voice turned angry. “How much people can take, we don’t know,” he said. “They’re not going to get killed every day and just keep watching. If we’re going to pay with our lives for the president’s reforms, then we don’t want his reforms.”
Friday’s violence started after the noon prayers, when thousands gathered in protest. Their demands have grown since the uprising began: from calls for reform to demands that President Assad step down.
In at least two towns, protesters tore down Mr. Assad’s picture and wrecked statues of his father.
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