Pro-democracy protesters clashed with police once again throughout Syria, Al Jazeera writes. On Friday, police allegedly shot demonstrators who were manhandling a statue of president Al-Assad near Deraa. According to several witnesses, around 20 people were killed by police ammunition.
These aren’t the first reported deaths in the region. Mourners recently gathered for the funeral of two people killed this week during fighting with state forces in Daraa. A security clampdown “has left 100 dead according to human rights groups. Syrian authorities have put the death toll at 10,” according to media reports.
In stark contrast to the violence peppering Syrian streets, the country’s information minister painted a different picture in a statement Friday: “There is a totally peaceful climate in the Syrian towns and the terrorists have been arrested,” Mohsen Bilal said.
Many rallies took place across Syria Friday, and many called for change in the country. An Al Jazeera reporter found most “people here say they want freedom, they want reforms.”
The Financial Times reports, “US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday that Syria should follow the example of Egypt, where the army held fire and helped the people overthrow the rule of Hosni Mubarak.”
The Syrian protests follow similar pro-democracy uprisings across the Middle East in countries such as Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya.
