Syrian president sacks Hama governor after 200,000 protest

Reports give no reason for Bashar al-Assad’s decision but state TV footage shows huge crowds The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has sacked the governor of the city of Hama where 200,000 people took to the streets to protest against his regime. State TV announced the removal of the governor on Saturday. Although the report gave no reason or detail for his sacking, video footage showed the huge crowds of protesters in a central square of the provincial capital calling for an end to Assad’s rule. “The Syrian president signed a decree today relieving Doctor Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz of his post as governor of Hama,” the state-run Sana news agency announced. Hama was the site of an armed Islamist revolt against Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, in 1982. At least 10,000 people were killed and part of the old city was flattened when the army crushed the uprising. The protests on Friday across Syria were the largest since the uprising against Assad’s rule began nearly four months ago. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets nationwide, with human rights groups saying that at least 24 people had been killed by security forces on what was dubbed “the Friday of departure”, a slogan borrowed from the demonstrators against Hosni Mubarak in Egypt at the start of the Arab uprising. Activists claimed many were injured when police fired on protesters in the Damascus suburb of Daraya. Demonstrations were also reported in Aleppo, Latakia and Homs. Human rights campaigners estimate that more than 1,350 civilians have been killed since the uprising began in mid-March. The government says about 500 security personnel have also been killed. Days after the protests erupted in the southern city of Deraa on 18 March, Assad sacked its regional governor. Syria Bashar Al-Assad Arab and Middle East unrest Protest Middle East David Batty guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 2, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.