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| Anti-Syrian regime protesters, shout slogans as one of them holds an Arabic placard reading: "News alert, Bashar Assad to the hell," during a demonstration in Tripoli. |
Syria - Syrian security forces fired on thousands of protesters Friday, killing a teenage boy and at least 15 other civilians as accounts emerged of more indiscriminate killing and summary executions by the autocratic regime of President Bashar Assad, activists said. The three-month uprising has proved stunningly resilient despite a relentless crackdown by the military, the pervasive security forces and pro-regime gunmen. Human rights activists say more than 1400 Syrians have been killed and 10,000 detained as Assad desperately tries to maintain his grip on power. "What is our guilt? We just demanded freedom and democracy nothing else," said Mohamed, 27, who spoke from a refugee camp in neighbouring Turkey where nearly 10,000 Syrians have fled. Mohamed, who asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisals, and other refugees offered harrowing accounts of the regime's bombardment. "I saw people who were beheaded with machine-gun fire from helicopters," and a man tortured to death when security forces poured acid on his body, he said. Full Story>>
