DAMASCUS – Syrian security forces killed a protester in the southern city of Deraa yesterday, residents said, as the authorities tried to contain three days of protests demanding freedoms and the release of political prisoners.
Raed al-Kerad was shot dead in the new part of Deraa.
He is the fifth civilian killed by security forces since protests against Syria’s ruling elite erupted in Deraa on Friday.
Crowds set fire to the headquarters of the ruling Baath Party in the Syrian city of Deraa, as the wave of unrest in the Arab world shook even one of its most authoritarian states.
The demonstrators also set ablaze the main courts complex and two phone company branches.
One of the firms, Syriatel, is owned by President Bashar al-Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf. – (Reuters)