Аssad Regime Scatters Massive Anti-Govt Rallies across Syria

A Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) Handout photograph shows Syrians shouting slogans of freedom and in support of martyrs during a demonstration held in the Douma suburb near the capital Damascus in Syria, 15 April 2011. EPA/BGNES

Syrian police have used tear gas and water cannons to scatter massive rallies demanding the end of President Bashar Al-Assad's regime.

Some 50 000 people rallied for an anti-government protest in Syria's capital Damascus Friday protesting against Assad's rule and demanding freedom, international media reported.

Another 10 000 gathered in the restless city of Daraa; there were also rallies in some other locations after the Friday Muslim prayers.

No violence or casualties have been reported as of Friday night even though last week a number of protesters were killed in shooting, which according to the Syrian government, originated with armed extremists, and not with the security forces. According to Syrian pro-democracy groups, some 200 people have been killed in the country as the protest movement has been gaining momentum over the past month.

37 were killed only last Friday, most of them in the city of Daraa.

Protesters are also reported for have rallied in the predominantly Kurdish city of Qamishli in Northeast Syria.

Hundreds of people have been arbitrarily arrested and tortured in Syria since protests erupted in the country last month, that's according to the campaign group Human Rights Watch. Its report was published Friday as a wave of protests were reported across the country.

Human Rights Watch says, as cited by VOA, that security and intelligence services in Syria have detained demonstrators, journalists, and activists involved in protests during the past month.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 19 people who said they had been detained in a number of locations around the country, including the capital Damascus.