Thousands of students staged demonstrations against the authoritarian regime in Syria on Wednesday, rejecting statements on reforms made by President Bashar al-Assad, while a large rally was announced for Friday, informs Associated Press.
Uprising in Syria is the biggest challenge for al-Assad dynasty, in power for 40 years. ‘We are preparing for a huge demonstration Friday”, said a militant in the city Deraa (south of Syria) where anti-government protests erupted for the first time last month and have spread nationwide.
Prolonged instability in Syria could have serious consequences beyond the borders of this country who has links with militant groups such as Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and the Shiites in Iran. This gave Damascus a most important role in Middle East issues, from the Arab-Israeli peace process to the extended influence of Iran.
At least 200 people were killed after the Syrian government has intervened to suppress the protests. Wednesday, 4,000 students from Deraa and neighboring areas protested near al-Omari mosque in the city.
Several militants have claimed that dozens of students protested Wednesday at the University of Alep in the north, adding that the campus had seen confrontations between pro and anti-government students.
British Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that its citizens should take into account the possibility of leaving Syria on board of commercial flights because of deteriorating security situation in the country.
However, British diplomats have warned that they expected violent clashes between local security forces and protesters.
According to AFP, hundreds of demonstrators marched on Wednesday in Syria, in Alep (north-west) and Homs (center), where the number of people killed the day before during the dispersion of a sit-in type meeting has reached eight people, said political and human rights activists.