SANAA/CAIRO – Protests erupted across much of the Arab world on Friday, where demonstrators were killed in Syria and Yemen while Egyptians staged one of the biggest rallies since President Hosni Mubarak’s fall.
State television reported that armed groups killed 19 policemen in Syria’s southern city of Deraa, as activists and residents said at least 17 people were killed when Syrian security forces opened fire on thousands protesting against President Bashar al-Assad in the city.
Two demonstrators were shot dead in Yemen as Shias in Saudi Arabia protested in the oil-producing east to call for the withdrawal of Saudi troops from neighbouring Bahrain. In Cairo’s Tahrir Square, perhaps the spiritual home of the Arab protest movement, crowds demanded Mubarak’s prosecution as discontent with military rule grows; but in Oman heavy security prevented a planned demonstration after Friday prayers.
