Syrian, Yemen opposition buoyed by Gadhafi death
Inspired by the death of deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in Libya, demonstrators took to the streets of Syria and Yemen on Friday filled with a renewed sense of purpose to end the regimes there.
In Syria, protesters flooded streets in Homs, Idlib and other areas, congratulating the Libyan people and warning their own ruler that he could soon meet the same fate. “Now Gadhafi is done, done! It is your turn Bashar!” they chanted.
Security forces raided areas in Jisr Al-Shoghour and fired on homes in the Bab Amr neighborhood in Homs with machine guns, vehicle-mounted weapons and anti-aircraft guns, the Local Coordinating Committees, a Syrian opposition group that organizes protests, reported. It said a total of 24 people died across the country in the fighting. CNN cannot independently verify events inside of Syria.
In Yemen, demonstrations broke out in 17 provinces and in the capital city of Sanaa, where thousands of demonstrators took to Change Square. They flew the Libyan revolutionary flag and chanted, “Saleh the killer look at where Gadhafi is now; his forces could not save his life.” Women in the crowd carried roses, a symbol of peaceful revolution in Yemen.
“Saleh will not sleep after seeing what happened to Gadhafi,” Ahmed Bahri, head of the political circle in the opposition Haq party said. “He knows Gadhafi was more powerful than him but still fell.”