Syria protests: Security forces shoot at mourners

Found on BBC News on Friday, 22 April 2011
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Security forces in Syria have shot dead at least 12 people at funerals for anti-government protesters killed on Friday, reports say.

The BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones in Beirut says it appears that the government has made a deliberate decision to use live ammunition, to clear the streets and to impose order.

"One of the fallen people wasn't dead, he was injured and when someone tried to help, one security guard shot the injured person twice, to make sure he's dead."

It's getting harder for the dictatorship in Syria to defend its position, especially since more and more give in. Like Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, who announced today that he will step down to make room for the opposition.