Killing emboldens Syria’s anti-Assad protesters

THE killing of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi fuelled anti-government rallies across Syria after Friday prayers and security forces killed 13 people in a continued crackdown on protesters seeking President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, activists said.

Protesters found a heavier than normal security presence in Syria on the day after Gaddafi’s death, which could embolden protesters across an Arab world where unrest has toppled three autocratic leaders this year and challenged others like Assad.

Most of yesterday’s killings were in the central city of Homs and in Hama to the north, both hotbeds of anti-Assad protests and the targets of military operations to put them down.