Daraa (Syria), Mar 25: Thousands of Syrians took to the streets today demanding reforms and mourning dozens of protesters who were killed during a violent, week-long crackdown that has brought extraordinary pressure on the country's autocratic regime.
There were no immediate reports of serious violence.
Daraa, the main city of southern Syria's drought-parched agricultural heartland, has become a flashpoint for protests in a country whose leadership stands unafraid of using extreme violence to quash internal unrest.
The coming days will be a crucial test of the surge of popular discontent that has unseated autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt and threatens to push several others from power.
Sheltering in Daraa's Roman-era old city, the protesters have persisted through seven days of increasing violence by security forces, but have not inspired significant unrest in other parts of the country.
Today, demonstrations were planned in Daraa and throughout the country in what organisers called a "Day of Dignity."
But journalists who tried to enter Daraa's Old City -- where most of the violence took place -- were escorted out of town today by two security vehicles.
"As you can see, everything is back to normal and it is over," an army major, standing in front of the ruling Baath party head office in Daraa, told journalists before they were led out of the city.
In the hours that followed, reports on social media networks said crowds were gathering, but they could not immediately be independently confirmed.
After the Friday prayers in the village of Dael, near Daraa, men on motorcycles and cars honked their horns while several hundred men marched, some of them carrying Syrian flags and chanting: "Dael and Daraa will not be humiliated!" Plainclothes security agents watched without interfering.
Scores of people were gathering in surrounding villages in what appeared to be preparation to march to Daraa. But Syrian soldiers deployed along the highway, apparently to prevent such a march.
A human rights activist, quoting witnesses, said thousands of people were gathering in the town of Douma outside the capital, Damascus, pledging support for the people of Daraa. The activist asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.
In the capital, about 200 people near the central Marjeh Square shouted "Our souls, our blood we sacrifice for you Daraa!" and "Freedom, freedom!" AP
