Syrian Authorities Will Face Up to Armed Groups
The Syrian authorities will face up to armed groups firing indiscriminately on demonstrators and the forces of order, the interior ministry said in a statement released early Saturday.
"We will not allow confusion between peaceful demonstrations and (acts of) sabotage (aimed at) sowing discord, harming national unity and destabilizing the foundations of Syrian policy," said the statement published by the official SANA news agency.
"To preserve the security of the country, citizens and public institutions, the Syrian authorities will face up to these plotters and those behind them, under the law limiting the use of arms," it said.
The statement spoke of "plotters ... pushed by known foreign parties who reject the reforms and turn up their noses at the popular demands."
"These people have infiltrated the ranks of the demonstrators and fired indiscriminately to sow discord between the citizens and the security forces. They have set fire to public institutions, attacked soldiers and security agents who refrained from opening fire, which caused a large number of dead and wounded among them," the statement said.
SANA said on Friday 19 members of the security forces were killed and 75 were wounded by "armed groups" in the southern city of Daraa, epicenter of the revolt against the Syrian regime.
Tens of thousands of people have marched in other cities.
Versions of the unrest and tolls have differed between human rights militants and the authorities.
Ammar Qurabi, the head of the National Organization for Human Rights, said at least 24 protesters were killed on Friday as anti-regime demonstrations and clashes with security forces raged around Syria.
"We have the names of 19 demonstrators killed in Daraa, and we have been told of the deaths of two protesters in Homs and three in Harasta," Qurabi told Agence France Presse by telephone from Cairo, where he lives in exile.
"We are aware that live bullets, tear gas and another gas that causes fainting were used," he added.
Source: Agence France Presse
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