Syrian Protests Escalate as Assad 'Promises' Reform

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad continues to promise liberalizing half-measures as protesters clash with security forces in widening strife.

Protesters in Syria continue to demand the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad's regime despite promises to lift emergency rule and a brutal crackdown that's killed at least 200 people since marches began last month. Assad, who inherited rule of the Ba'ath party from his father, Hafez al-Assad, in 2000, released a raft of pro-democracy protesters this week who had been arrested during marches in the cities of Damascus, Latakia, Baniyas, and Homs. That last city was the scene of a clash at dawn on Tuesday between protesters who had converged on the town centre for a Tahrir Square-influenced sit-in, and army and security forces who fired live rounds and tear gas to disperse them. Also Tuesday, the U.S. government denied that it was covertly funding opposition parties in Syria aiming to unseat the Ba'athists.