Thousands march in Syria protests

Syria has been ruled under emergency law since the Baath Party took power in a 1963 coups and banned all opposition.

Syrian security forces killed a protester, marking the fifth civilian to be killed by the force since protests erupted in Deraa on Friday as demonstrators called for freedom and the release of political prisoners.

Three days ago, security forces opened fire on civilians taking part in a peaceful protest, where they also called for the release of 15 schoolchildren whose arrests for scrawling protest graffiti had helped fuel the demonstration.

The government sought to calm the rising discontent in Deraa by promising that the children, who had written slogans on walls inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, would be released immediately.

Yesterday, thousands of mourners called for revolution at the funeral of two protesters. Officials later met Deraa notables who presented them with a list of demands, including the release of political prisoners, the dismantling of the secret police headquarters in Deraa, the dismissal of the governor, a public trial for those responsible for the killings and the scrapping of regulations requiring permission from the secret police to sell and buy property.