fbpx

News

Assad considering reforms after bloodshed in Daraa

[ssba]

A senior adviser to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad said yesterday that the Syrian regime was considering a series of reforms, including studying the possibility of withdrawing emergency laws in effect since 1963, and permitting the formation and operation of political parties other than the ruling Ba’ath party. These statements by senior adviser Bouthaina Shaaban came after a day of bloodshed in the southern Syrian town of Daraa, in which as many as 100 protestors may have been killed. According to Syrian opposition sources, the Syrian security forces used high caliber weaponry, including armour-piercing bullets, against civilian protestors. Protests are expected to continue today.