Syrians call for 'Friday of the beginnings of victory' after prayers

Syrian security forces deploy in numbers in several locations after Thursday evening prayers.

Middle East Online

'We only kneel before God' DAMASCUS - Syrian anti-regime activists called for fresh protests after the weekly Muslim prayers Friday, as US President Barack Obama led a chorus of calls for Syria's autocratic leader to step down. The protests, which weekly draw tens of thousands onto Syria's streets calling for the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, will test the president's commitment that his security forces have ended operations against civilians. Only hours after Assad gave the commitment to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, his security forces Thursday night opened fire to disperse an anti-regime protest in the central city of Homs, killing at least one person and wounding another, according to an activist on the scene. Security forces also deployed in numbers in several locations after Thursday evening prayers, including the suburbs of Damascus, where protests were reported and shots were heard, a rights group said. Facebook group The Syrian Revolution 2011, one of the drivers of the protests, said Friday's rallies will be held under the slogan, "Friday of the beginnings of victory." The civilian death toll from the security force crackdown on the protests has now passed 2,000, UN under secretary general B. Lynn Pascoe told the UN Security Council on Thursday. Obama on Thursday called for Assad to quit and slapped harsh new sanctions on Syria, freezing state assets and blacklisting the oil and gas sector. The White House later expressed hope that the European Union would follow suit, conscious that the United States has only limited leverage over Damascus compared to the Europeans, whose oil purchases help to bolster the regime. It was the first explicit US call for Assad to resign since the pro-democracy uprising -- inspired by the revolts that toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia -- erupted on March 15. "We have consistently said that President Assad must lead a democratic transition or get out of the way. He has not led. For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside," Obama said. His call was quickly echoed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron. "We call on him to face the reality of the complete rejection of his regime by the Syrian people and to step aside in the best interests of Syria and the unity of its people," the trio said in a joint statement. The United Nations said a humanitarian mission would go to Syria this weekend as European powers launched a campaign for UN Security Council sanctions against Assad. UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos announced the much-delayed mission after the Security Council was briefed on a shoot-to-kill policy against protesters, stadium executions and children feared killed in Syrian government custody. Britain, France, Germany and Portugal said they were preparing a Security Council sanctions resolution. The United States strongly backed the move, but resistance was expected from veto-wielding permanent members China and Russia, who fear a repeat of the Libya scenario. Syria's UN ambassador Bashar Jaafari fired back that the United States and its allies had launched a "humanitarian and diplomatic war" against his country, as Damascus accused Washington of seeking to stoke violence in Syria. "It is strange that instead of offering (Damascus) a helping hand to implement its programme of reforms, the West and Obama are seeking to stoke more violence in Syria," Reem Haddad, the information ministry's director of external relations, said. "This (action by the US and EU) is the proof that Syria is targeted yet again," Haddad said. "It's only this morning that the president told Ban Ki-moon of the army decision to end the military operations... and it's only yesterday that the president met with Baath party members about the implementation of the reform programme," she added. "It's also very important to remember that the choice of president is a decision of the Syrian people and the Syrian people alone," Haddad stressed. UN human rights chief Navi Pillay meanwhile said Syria may have committed crimes against humanity and urged the Security Council meeting to refer the matter to the International Criminal Court. A report by Pillay described "widespread or systematic attacks against the civilian population, which may amount to crimes against humanity." It said Syrian security forces had targeted civilians with ground forces, rooftop snipers and aircraft "with an apparent shoot-to-kill policy." The document also described summary executions, including reports that "forces conducted regular raids in hospitals to search for and kill injured demonstrators," as well as allegations of torture and arbitrary arrests. It has been difficult to independently confirm events on the ground as Syria has heavily restricted media access since the start of the unrest.