Assad Mandates New Govt in Syria to Put Out Protests

Syrian President Bashar Assad (C) waving to crowd after leaving the Syrian Parliament following his address to the Syrian nation in Damascus, Syria, on 30 March 2011. EPA/BGNES

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad asked has former Agriculture Minister Adel Safar to form a new government in a move to quiet down the ongoing protests in one of the key Arab countries.

Safar's appointment reported by Syrian state agency SANA comes after Assad dismissed the cabinet last week hoping to terminate the pro-democracy protests that have been gaining ground in Syria.

The moves comes just as the residents of Douma, a suburb north of Damascus are preparing for the funerals of protesters killed Friday by Syrian security forces firing into the crowd.

On Friday, after their prayers in mosques around the country, thousands of Syrians staged rallies demanding reforms and freedom.

The protest came largely in reaction to a presidential speech on March 30 in which Assad was expected to announce the lifting of emergency law, which has been in place in the country since 1963.

In his first address to the nation since the protests began on 15 March, President Bashar Assad blamed the widening unrest in Syria on foreign conspirators.

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