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Syria readies for new government
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appointed former agriculture minister Adel Safar the new premier today and asked him to form a government as thousands joined the funeral procession for protesters killed in Douma.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appointed former agriculture minister Adel Safar the new premier today and asked him to form a government as thousands joined the funeral procession for protesters killed in Douma.
Cell phone and internet networks failed for several hours on Sunday "due to an overload", according to a customer representative, a day after authorities carried out a wave of arrests in protest cities.
Assad asked Safar to form a new government, the state-run news agency SANA reported today, having sacked his entire cabinet in a bid to quell pro-democracy protests.
Meanwhile, Douma, a suburb north of Damascus still reeling from a fatal crackdown by security forces against pro-reform demonstrators, observed a mass funeral with thousands of sympathisers streaming in from neighbouring towns.
“People are very sad,” a resident told AFP as the town buried eight people killed in a crackdown by security forces on Friday. “They want to make it up to the families so they are promising more protests.”
