JORDAN: Hundreds of anti-Assad protesters hold demonstration near the Syrian embassy in Jordanian capital of Amman

Record ID: 279609

  • Title: JORDAN: Hundreds of anti-Assad protesters hold demonstration near the Syrian embassy in Jordanian capital of Amman
  • Date: 23rd May 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS HOLDING FLAGS SYRIAN FLAGS
  • Embargoed: 7th June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jordan, Jordan
  • Country: Jordan
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA4RLJ09RJSPUBYQ2ABV7E23TW4
  • Story Text: Hundreds of people gathered near the Syrian embassy in Amman on Sunday (May 22), in a show of solidarity with anti-government protesters in Syria.
    Rights groups say Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces have killed at least 800 people in a crackdown against protests inspired by uprisings across the Arab world.
    But authorities say armed groups, backed by Islamists and outside powers, are to blame for most of the violence and have killed more than 120 soldiers and police.
    "We want one thing, which is freedom. As long as blood is being spilled, we will continue protests -- until we gain our rights, most importantly the right to live, which is missing in Syria," said one Syrian protester.
    Syria has been ruled by the Assad family since Bashar's father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, took power in a 1970 coup.
    The younger Assad kept intact the autocratic political system he inherited in 2000 while the family expanded its control over the country's struggling economy.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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