Syria fires tear gas on protests

SYRIAN security forces fired tear gas on thousands of protesters as President Bashar Assad faced down the most serious unrest of his 11 years in power with a bloody, week-long crackdown.

Assad was expected to address the nation as early as today to try to ease the crisis by lifting a nearly 50-year state of emergency and moving to annul other harsh restrictions on civil liberties and political freedoms.

Syria has been rocked by more than a week of demonstrations that began in Daraa. The death toll was at least 61 since March 18, according to Human Rights Watch.