Syria to free child prisoners

Source: Aljazeera


President Bashar al-Assad's political party faces challenges as Syrians protest against government rule

The Syrian government says it will release 15 children whose arrest helped fuel several days of protests which have left at least five civilians dead.

An official statement released on Sunday said the children, who had written pro-democracy graffiti inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, would be released immediately.

Their release would be a rare concession from Syria's ruling hierarchy, which rarely responds to popular pressure. But it has done little to deter protesters in the southern city of Daraa: Thousands of them took to the streets again on Sunday, angered by the deaths caused when security forces shot into a crowd on Friday.

Daraa has seen the largest protests in the country. Smaller demonstrations have erupted in Damascus, the central city of Homs, and the port city of Banias.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/03/2011320113138901721.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12800243

Thousands of people have been demonstrating for a third consecutive day in the Syrian city of Deraa. Police tried to disperse protesters in the southern city, and one demonstrator was reportedly killed.

The protesters called for an end to Syria's 48-year-old emergency law, and for the dismissal of officials involved in a crackdown this week, reports said.

The official news agency has tried to explain the security forces' use of live ammunition by saying that instigators impersonating security officials have misled the police into using violence and live bullets.

So far Syria has remained unaffected by demands for change in the Arab world, but it now seems the government is facing a challenge to its authority, our correspondent says.