DAMASCUS, Syria, March 21 (UPI) -- Syrian demonstrators ignored a violent government crackdown on demonstrators and took to the streets Monday in the southern city of Daraa, witnesses said.
Opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, calling for political and economic reform, accuse the government of carrying out human rights abuses.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency said two people were killed during Friday demonstrations in Daraa. Witnesses told CNN International that hundreds turned out to protest Monday after burying the dead.
Protesters last week set fire to the ruling Baath Party's headquarters and other government buildings in Daraa. Police responded with tear gas and live ammunition.
A minister was quoted by SANA as saying Assad "ordered that the necessary measures be taken to punish everyone who is proved responsible for what happened.''
British Minister for the Middle East and North African Alistair Burt said he was watching the situation in Syria closely. He said he welcomed a pledge by the Syrian government to investigate the deaths but stressed that political freedoms must be upheld in the Syrian republic.
"I call on the government of Syria to respect the people's right to peaceful protest and listen to their legitimate grievances," he said in a statement.
