Damascus on edge as over one million protest

Syrians demonstrate after Friday prayers in the central city of Hama Violence erupted in different parts of Syria yesterday as more than a million protesters took to the streets. At least 11 people were killed in incidents across the country. More than 1.2 million Syrians joined anti-regime protests in the northern city of Hama and Deir Ezzor in the east, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"More than 1.2 million people marched: in Deir Ezzor there were more than 550,000, and in Hama more than 650,000," Rami Abdul Rahman said. In Hama, 210 kilometres north of Damascus, demonstrators chanted slogans "in favour of national unity and against sectarianism," while also calling "for the fall of the regime," Abdul Rahman said.
In Aleppo, two demonstrators were stabbed to death in front of the Amneh mosque by pro-government militiamen, according to Abdul Karim Rihawi of the Syrian League for Human Rights.
In the mainly Kurdish city of Qamishli, police fired tear gas at protesters in the first major crackdown on Kurdish demonstrators reported since the start of the four-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar Al Asad's rule.
As crackdowns have intensified in Homs and Hama, residents in Damascus say they are worried that the capital will soon slide into chaos. Residents in the capital, have been mostly staying home and most restaurants and clubs are empty. Last week, thousands of Damascenes frustrated by the slow pace of reforms promised by Al Asad took to the streets.
Security forces responded harshly, killing at least 23 people.