Thousands take to streets in Syria

At least 15 people died in clashes during the past few days and an unconfirmed report put the toll at 34 dead.

Almost all shops were closed, the streets were virtually empty and soldiers and anti-terrorism police stopped people at checkpoints and manned many intersections – the heaviest security presence since the unrest began.

An activist said massive crowds shouted “Syria, freedom!” as they marched toward one of the main cemeteries.

Others in Daraa held a sit-in in the al-Mahata neighbourhood to protest at the killing of residents in clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters.

Syrian leaders have pledged to introduce reforms after days of violence. Officials promised to study the need for lifting the state of emergency, in place since 1963, which gives security forces sweeping powers.

The government said it would investigate and bring to trial those suspected of the killings in Daraa.

Inspired by the wave of pro-democracy protests around the region, the uprising in Daraa and at least four nearby villages has become the biggest domestic challenge since the 1970s to the Syrian government, one of the most repressive in the Middle East.

Security forces have responded with water cannon, tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.

On Wednesday Syrian police launched a relentless assault on a neighbourhood sheltering anti-government protesters, shooting dead many in an operation that lasted nearly 24 hours.

A resident of Daraa who was reached by phone said witnesses there reported seeing at least 34 people killed.

He said at least 20 bodies were taken to Daraa National Hospital, and seven others taken to hospitals in neighbouring areas.

In the early evening, people from the nearby villages of Inkhil, Khirbet Ghazale and al-Harrah tried to march on Daraa but security forces opened fire and hit them with rifle butts as they approached.

The resident said seven more were killed in that shooting. He asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

“It was a very difficult, bloody day,” he said. “There is a state of undeclared curfew in Daraa, whenever troops see four or five more people gathered they open fire.

“Daraa today is like a ghost town, we are very scared. Everything is closed and the streets are empty, everywhere you look there’s security.”

Abdul-Karim Rihawi, who heads the Syrian Human Rights League, said the authorities had begun a campaign of detentions against activists, writers and bloggers in different parts of Syria.

A statement posted on the Facebook page The Syrian Revolution 2011 held Syrian authorities led by President Bashar Assad responsible for the violence and called on the Syrian people to hold protests in all Syrian provinces.

An official at the Daraa National Hospital said the hospital was “overwhelmed” with wounded people.

He said the hospital had not received any new casualties since Wednesday night and that Daraa was “very quiet this morning.” Videos posted by activists on the internet sites YouTube and Twitter showed dead and wounded people lying on a street in Daraa, as heavy gunfire crackled nearby and people shouted in panic.

The authenticity of the videos could not be independently confirmed.

The continuing disturbances come despite official efforts to calm the situation by despatching high-ranking delegations to the area.

The governor of Daraa, Feisal Kalthoum, was reported to have been dismissed, although there has been no official announcement.