20 killed in Syria despite vow to end crackdown

SYRIAN forces shot dead 20 protesters despite a pledge by President Bashar al-Assad that a crackdown was over, activists said as thousands marched across Syria, spurred on by US and European calls for him to step down.

Most of the violence was in the southern province of Deraa where the uprising against Assad erupted in March, triggering a harsh response in which UN investigators say Syrian forces may have committed crimes against humanity.

“Bye-bye Bashar; See you in The Hague,” chanted protesters in the central city of Homs, waving their shoes in a gesture of contempt. “We want revenge against Maher and Bashar,” shouted others, referring to the Syria leader and his powerful brother.

“The people want the execution of the president,” shouted a crowd in northern Idlib province, reflecting deepening antipathy to the 45-year-old Assad. Some carried banners with slogans proclaiming “Signs of Victory.”

Local activist Abdallah Aba Zaid said 18 people were killed in Deraa province, including eight in the town of Ghabaghab, five in Hirak, four in Inkhil and one in Nawa. Dozens of people were wounded, he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two people were also killed in the Bab Amro district of Homs.

Assad, from the minority Alawite sect in the mostly Sunni Muslim nation, told UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon this week that military and police operations had stopped. But activists say his forces are still shooting at protesters.

“Maybe Bashar al-Assad does not regard police as security forces,” said a witness in Hama, where security forces fired machineguns late on Thursday to prevent a night-time protest.

Syrian state television said the deaths in Ghabaghab were caused by gunmen who attacked a police post, killing a policeman and a civilian and wounding two others. It said two members of the security forces and one gunman were killed in a clash in Harasta, near Damascus.

Syria has expelled most independent media since the unrest began, making it difficult to verify reports of violence in which the UN says 2,000 civilians have been killed. Authorities blame terrorists and extremists for the bloodshed and say 500 soldiers and police have been killed.

Internet footage of yesterday’s protests suggested that although widespread they were smaller than at their peak in July, before Assad sent tanks and troops into several cities.

A doctor in Zabadani, 30km northeast of Damascus, said army vehicles were in the town and snipers were on rooftops to prevent crowds marching.

Protesters from the Sunni majority resent the power and wealth amassed by some Alawites, who adhere to an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam. They want Assad to quit, the dismantling of the security apparatus and the introduction of sweeping reforms.

The violent repression prompted coordinated calls from the US and EU on Thursday for Assad to step down and Washington imposed sweeping new sanctions on Syria, which borders Israel, Lebanon and Iraq and is an ally of Iran.

EU states agreed to expand the number of Syrian officials and institutions targeted by sanctions and laid out plans for a possible oil embargo. Syria exports over a third of its 385,000 barrels per day output to Europe.

The shape of a post-Assad Syria is unclear, although the disparate opposition, persecuted for decades, has gained a fresh sense of purpose as popular disaffection has spread.

President Barack Obama froze Syrian state assets in the US, banned US citizens from operating or investing in Syria and prohibited US imports of Syrian oil.

“The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way,” Obama said. “His calls for dialogue and reform have rung hollow while he is slaughtering his own people.”

Adding to pressure, UN investigators said Assad’s forces had committed violations that may amount to crimes against humanity.