Unrest continues in Syria

Syria

The Syrian regime Tuesday fired the governor of a southern province where a government crackdown killed seven protesters in recent days. Residents of the city of Daraa had been demanding Faisal Kalthoum's departure.

Daraa residents accused Kalthoum - in office since 2006 - of corruption. During a demonstration Monday, protesters chanted, "The people want to bring down the governor."

Despite the governor's dismissal, hundreds of protesters gathered in the town. "Around one thousand protesters gathered in and around the Omari mosque shouting anti-regime slogans, amid a heavy security and army presence," the activist told AFP.

They formed a human shield around the mosque to prevent security forces from approaching it, he added.

Meanwhile, video footage posted on the Internet showed new anti-government protests in a suburb of the capital, Damascus, and a village in southern Syria. One clip on YouTube showed several hundred villagers in Sanamein chanting "Freedom!" while another showed dozens gathered in the Hajar Aswad neighborhood of the capital. The protests were held late Monday.