500,000 anti-gov`t protesters clash with police in Syria

Syria has seen its biggest demonstration since anti-government protests broke out on March 15. AFP says more than 500,000 people took to the streets Friday and clashed with police in Hama, Syria`s third-biggest city.

Syrian human rights activists said protesters from 172 areas of the country threw stones at police and security forces with tanks. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed the Hama governor for failure to maintain security.

In most other areas in the country including Damascus, people took to the streets for anti-government protests after noon prayer.

Twenty-eight people were reported killed in the simultaneous protests. Human rights activists said at least 1,360 citizens have been killed since the beginning of the protests. Security forces suffered 343 casualties, most of whom were shot to death for refusing to open fire on civilians.

The Assad government is said to have deployed more troops along Syria`s border with Turkey than at the protest sites for fear that Turkish refugees will attempt to make their own settlement town in Turkey to expand their forces.

Separately, the British daily Guardian said Thursday that the U.S. is collecting signatures from senior opposition politicians for a roadmap to resolve the Syrian unrest. The roadmap proposes a 100-seat parliament consisting of 30 lawmakers from the ruling Ba`ath Party and 70 independents to play the role of an interim government.

Guardian added that the plan is controversial within the opposition camp, because it suggests implementation of democratic reforms rather than President Assad’s resignation.

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