14 killed, Syrian security forces fired on funeral processions that drew tens of thousands Saturday, one day after the bloodiest crackdown so far in the uprising against President Bashar Assad. The shootings pushed the two-day death toll to more than 120



In this citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and acquired by the AP, Syrian anti-government protesters carry a poster of a slain activist during a funeral procession in Douma, Syria, Saturday, April 23, 2011. Syrian security forces fired on tens of thousands of mourners during funeral processions Saturday, killing at least six people following the deadliest day of the uprising against authoritarian President Bashar Assad.



Syrian security forces fired on funeral processions that drew tens of thousands Saturday, one day after the bloodiest crackdown so far in the uprising against President Bashar Assad. The shootings pushed the two-day death toll to more than 120 and two lawmakers and a religious leader resigned in disgust over the killings.
The resignations were a possible sign of cracks developing in the regime's base in a nation where nearly all opposition figures have been either jailed or exiled during the 40-year dynasty of the Assad family.
"I cannot tolerate the blood of our innocent sons and children being shed," Sheikh Rizq Abdul-Rahim Abazeid told The Associated Press after stepping down from his post as the mufti of the Daraa region in southern Syria.
The lawmakers, Nasser Hariri and Khalil Rifai, also are from Daraa, which has become the epicenter of the protest movement after a group of teenagers were arrested there for scrawling anti-regime graffiti on a wall in mid-March.
Since then, the relentless crackdown on demonstrations has only served to invigorate protesters whose rage over the bloodshed has all but eclipsed their earlier demands for modest reforms. Now, many are seeking Assad's downfall.

Each Friday, growing numbers of people in cities across the country have taken to the streets despite swift attacks from security forces and shadowy pro-government gunmen known as "shabiha."

Ammar Qurabi, the head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights, said 112 people were killed Friday and at least 11 on Saturday. Friday was by far the deadliest day of the uprising, with security forces beating back protesters with bullets, tear gas and stun guns.

"If I cannot protect the chests of my people from these treacherous strikes, then there is no meaning for me to stay in the People's Assembly. I declare my resignation," Hariri told Al-Jazeera in a televised interview.
Radwan Ziadeh, a visiting scholar at the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University, said the resignations were largely symbolic because the parliament has no real power. But their dissent could encourage others to step down, such as Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, who is from Daraa, Ziadeh said.
He added Assad met with the lawmakers in recent weeks, promising them that security forces would not shoot protesters.

The uprising in Syria takes its inspiration from the popular revolts that toppled the leaders in Egypt and Tunisia. But Syria is a highly unpredictable country, in part because of its sizable minority population, the loyalty of the country's military and the regime's web of allegiances to powerful forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Shiite powerhouse Iran.

Serious, prolonged unrest in Syria would almost inevitably hurt Hezbollah and weaken Iran's influence in the region. But it is not at all clear what factions would have the upper hand if a power vacuum emerges in Syria. There are no organized, credible opposition leaders who can rally followers on the ground or be considered as a possible successor.

The heavy security crackdown on Friday and Saturday came after Assad warned a week ago that any further unrest would be considered "sabotage" after he made the gesture of lifting long-hated emergency laws, which gave security forces almost blanket powers for surveillance and arrest.

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