Bashar Assad | featured news

Despite a security crackdown, demonstrators hold a 'day of defiance' against President Bashar Assad in a dozen cities after Friday prayers. Witnesses, online videos and tweets report gunfire by government forces.

At least seven people are killed in the city of Dara, a flashpoint in the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime. Military officers say troops have been ordered to fire on any protester, but activists report that some are resisting.

Tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators march after Friday prayers in cities across Syria to demand the overthrow of the Assad regime. At least 57 protesters are reported killed as security forces respond to the unprecedented challenge with tear gas and bullets.

Women, children and students took to the streets in Syria on Wednesday, lending their voices to a monthlong uprising that President Bashar Assad insists is the work of a foreign conspiracy.

On a stage once commanded by his brutal father, President Bashar Assad blamed foreign conspiracies for Syria's unrest in a national speech Wednesday that sought to steel his family dynasty against a rebellion similar to those that have toppled regimes across the region.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accepted the resignation of the government on Tuesday, Syrian state television said.

Protesters and Syrian government forces clashed Saturday in the coastal city of Latakia, where demonstrators set fire to the offices of President Bashar Assad's ruling Baath party, an activist said.