U.S. president Barack Obama accused Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad of a “brutal” crackdown on his people and for “seeking Iranian assistance in repressing Syria’s citizens through the same brutal tactics that have been used by his Iranian allies.
Obama called for an immediate end to the new wave of attacks against Syrian protesters.
On the sixth Friday of protests against the government, Syrian security forces shot at protesters, killing at least 75 people, according to Amnesty International.
The French daily Libération reported that the demonstrations took shape following a Facebook rally call in various Syrian cities.
In Daraa, 10,000 protesters reportedly took to the streets, chanting their demands for freedom and support for recent victims of the protest crackdown. They also demanded the dismantling of Syrian intelligence and prosecution of its members.
Syrian protests began five weeks ago, and demands for an end to corruption are gradually being transformed into demands for regime change.
Along with the crackdown, Bashar Al-Assad has responded to the protests by trying to employ a series of reforms, starting with an end to the emergency law, which Syria has been under since 1963, and dissolving government security courts.
So far protesters have not been satisfied with the reforms.
