Unrest in the Arabworld---Syria.

Mourners 'shot dead' at Syria funeral

Rights group say five civilians killed as security forces open fire at funeral and raid homes. Last Modified: 26 Jun 2011 05:59 =================================================

Anti-government protests continue across Syria despite the authorities' bloody response [AFP] Syrian security forces have killed five civilians during house searches and funerals held for anti-government protesters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.  Two of the victims were killed in Kiswah, a suburb of Damascus, during funerals which turned into protests against President Bashar al-Assad, the London-based rights group said on Saturday. Thousands of people had been gathering to bury some of the six demonstrators activists said had been killed in the area on Friday. The Observatory said three civilians were also killed on Saturday during house-to-house raids in the Barzeh district of Damascus and in the town of Quseir, close to the Lebanon border. "These regions have been seeing growing protests and the regime is using force to prevent them from spreading," Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the group, told Reuters. Witnesses said at least 200 people were arrested in raids on homes in Barzeh following Friday's protests, when tens of thousands of people took to the streets around the country. 'Gross rights violations' Opposition activists said 20 people were killed and many more injured when tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country following Friday prayers. Al Jazeera is unable to verify reports from Syria because of restrictions on reporting in the country. The crackdown on protests, which activists say has left more than 1,300 people dead, has failed to silence the uprising that has now lasted more than 100 days. Amnesty International chief Salil Shetty on Saturday urged Arab states to act to help end the violence in Syria. "I urged the League of Arab states to take far stronger action on the gross human rights violations taking place in Syria," Shetty said after meeting outgoing Arab League chief Amr Moussa in Egypt. "In contrast to their vocal stance on Libya and support for international action, Arab countries have stayed largely muted on Syria." The authorities blame "terrorist armed groups" for the unrest that has gripped Syria, and say the military has been tasked with rooting them out. A prominent Syrian opposition figure, meanwhile, said about 200 regime critics and intellectuals will meet in Damascus on Monday to discuss strategies for a peaceful transition to democracy. The one-day gathering will be the first such meeting of Damascus-based opponents figures, many of whom have long been persecuted by the Assad government. Dissident Louay Hussein said Syrian authorities had not objected to the meeting. It will come one week after Assad, in a nationally televised speech, spoke of convening his own national dialogue to discuss political reforms.   Source:  Al Jazeera and agencies ======================================================= http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/06/20116265942652597.html