Syrian Eruption

Major anti-government protests have erupted across Syria:

"The protests, which began on March 15, have turned deadly, with at least 15 people killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. Activiststs and human rights organisations put the figure higher, with Amnesty International claiming 55 had been killed.

"In Tafas, south of the capital Damascus, angry residents set ablaze a police station and the local headquarters of the Baath party, which has ruled Syria single-handedly for close to half a century.

"The residents had gathered for the burial of three demonstrators who had been shot dead by security forces in rallies on Friday.

"In Daraa, a tribal town that has emerged as the symbol of the Syrian protests, some 300 shirtless young men climbed on the rubble of a statue of Hafez al-Assad, the late Syrian president, shouting anti-regime slogans, witnesses said...

"In the northern city of Latakia, "armed men" on rooftops fired at passers-by, a Syrian official said, without disclosing whether there had been any casualties."