1 of 5 | Syrian President Bashar al-Assad waves to supporters in the street after addressing parliament on March 30, 2011 in Damascus, Syria. Al-Assad ordered a committee to conduct an investigation into the deaths of protesters and also to study the lifting of emergency laws. UPI |
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DAMASCUS, Syria, April 11 (UPI) -- Armed groups in the western Syrian city of Banyas killed as many as nine people when they fired on security forces, an official government source said Monday.
Security forces during the weekend walked into an ambush set by insurgents in Banyas, leaving two officers among the nine people killed. Sources told the official Syrian Arab News agency that armed bandits set a trap for security forces along the highway to the western city.
Accounts of Syrian violence vary, though the Damascus regime has faced international criticism for what is allegedly a heavy-handed response to growing unrest in the country.
Syrian President Bashar Assad had offered vague pledges of reform, accepted the resignation of his Cabinet and formed a committee to examine lifting a state of emergency in place since the 1960s.
British Foreign Minister William Hague said Monday in London during talks with his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini that Damascus must do more to respond to growing protester demands.
"I call again on the Syrian government to respect the right to free speech and to peaceful protest, and to put in train the meaningful political reform which is the only legitimate response to demands from the Syrian people," he said in a statement.