Demonstrators attacked a police station and offices of the Baath party in the town of Tafas
Protesters burn gov. buildings in 2 Syrian towns
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Protesters set fire to offices of the ruling party in southern and western Syria on Saturday, burning tires and attacking cars and shops in a religiously mixed city on the Mediterranean coast, according to accounts by government officials, activists and witnesses.
Presidential advisor Bouthaina Shaaban told reporters that demonstrators attacked a police station and offices of the Baath party in the town of Tafas, six miles (10 kilometers) north of the city of Daraa, epicenter of more than a week of anti-government protests. In the coastal city of Latakia, dozens of people protested before attacking the Baath offices, said Ammar Qurabi, an exile in Egypt who heads Syria's National Organization for Human Rights.
A Syrian activist in touch with protesters in Latakia said hundreds had been demonstrating there since Friday evening, burning tires and shouting "Freedom!" A few protesters were attacking cars and shops, the activist said. More than a week of protests centered in Daraa exploded into nationwide unrest Friday when tens of thousands of protesters marched in cities, town and villages around the country, posing the greatest threat in decades to the Baath party's iron-fisted rule. Troops and soldiers opened fire in at least six places, killing some 15 protesters, according to witnesses, activists and footage posted on social networking sites.
A resident of Latakia who spoke to The Associated Press from home reported hearing gunfire Saturday evening, but could not say where it was coming from. Shaaban said that an "armed group" had occupied the roofs of some buildings in Latakia, and claimed the group was shooting randomly at citizens. Qurabi said four people had been killed when armed forces fired on protesters Friday in Latakia, which is almost evenly divided between the country's majority Sunni Muslims and Alawites, members of a branch of Shiite Islam who hold most positions of power, including the presidency.
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