DAMASCUS – Syria is launching an immediate probe into the deaths of “civilians and troops” in Daraa and Latakia, two cities that have emerged as the focal points of protests, state media reported Thursday.
“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has charged the head of the judges’ council with forming a committee to begin an investigation, effective immediately, into the deaths of civilians and troops in the governorates of Daraa and Latakia,” read a report on the state-run SANA news agency.
Assad is facing domestic pressure unprecedented in his 11-year rule as protests demanding greater freedoms in the country, which has been in a state of emergency for close to 50 years, enter their third week.
