Six Syrian cities see unrest

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in YerevanImage by PanARMENIAN_Photo via Flickr
Haaretz:

The unrest sweeping the Arab world spread across Syria over the weekend as tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated against President Bashar Assad's regime in Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Homs, Hama and Dara'a. The latter city has been the site of demonstrations for more than 10 days now.

Amnesty International has estimated that 55 people were killed in the demonstrations in Dara'a last week, and over the weekend an additional 15 to 20 people were reported killed in Sanamein, just outside Dara'a in the south. Two people were reportedly killed in Latakia and another three in a Damascus suburb.

Arab television networks repeatedly broadcast images of the demonstrations, which included a scene in which a statue of Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez Assad, was toppled in Dara'a's main square. In another scene, crowds torched offices of the ruling Baath Party.

In another, hundreds took cover in the face of machine-gun fire in Sanamein, where the casualty figures were the highest in the country over the weekend. Yesterday the unrest resumed in Latakia, Dara'a and Tafas, near Dara'a.

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There is more.

The article understates the casualties in Latakia as the post below indicates. The unrest is getting serious in Syria, but it is not yet at the stage of critical mass needed for a general uprising to overthrow the despotic regime. That could come in a matter of days, if the Syrians do not find a way to soothe the anger against the government.
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