(CNN) - Violent protests erupted Friday in Syria, with dozens of people people killed in and around the restive city of Daraa and a boy slain in the coastal town of Latakia, reports said.
"The situation in Syria has worsened considerably over the past week, with the use of live ammunition and tear gas by the authorities having resulted in a total of at least 37 people being killed in Daraa, including two children," said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Among the dead were 15 people who tried to march to Daraa, sources said, and nine others who died when security forces fired on demonstrators in Daraa's main square, said Wissam Tarif, a human rights activist. There were many casualties in Daraa, said Abdullah, an eyewitness who asked that his full name not be reported due to security concerns. He said he saw Friday's events in the city, where deadly clashes have taken place in recent days between security forces and protesters.
"Thousands gathered and moved to the governor's building in Daraa, and there they burned a large picture of Bashar al-Assad, and then they toppled a statue of Hafez al-Assad in the center of the square," Abdullah said, referring to the current president and his late father, the former president.
Aman al Aswad, an opposition activist, said dozens of people appeared to have been killed or wounded in clashes with security forces in the square, but he could not be precise on the totals. CNN could not independently confirm the accounts as the Syrian government has yet to grant access to the network.
Earlier, more than 100,000 people attended an anti-government demonstration in the town, according to Kamal Aswad, a political activist in Daraa.
The situation has drawn concern from the international community. The United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke by phone with President Assad. In Washington, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Friday that the U.S. government condemns the outbreak of violence in Syria. "We are making clear from here and from other places what our position is," he said.
Human Rights Watch, among other groups, said Thursday that around three dozen people were killed in clashes in a 48-hour period. "Syria's security forces are showing the same cruel disregard for protesters' lives as their counterparts in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Bahrain," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
"President Bashar al-Assad's talk about reforms doesn't mean anything when his security forces are mowing down people who want to talk about them."
Analysis: "Syria is the latest Arab country to experience widespread protests and government-sanctioned violence. In these early days and weeks of political violence, domestic public reaction will direct the future events in the country. If the public is serious about regime change and willing to make to sacrifices necessary in doing so, Assad and the Baath regime in Syria are in for a prolonged period of dissent and violence."
Read the Full Article here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/25/syria.unrest/
