Syria Arrests Hundreds Of Pro-Democracy Supporters

A video grab shows antigovernment protesters marching in Hama on April 29.

Security forces in Syria are reported to have arrested hundreds of pro-democracy supporters in several cities across the country.

Reuters says activists were rounded up in Deraa, a day after Syrian forces backed by tanks took control of the city.

Prominent rights campaigners were also reportedly arrested in the eastern cities of Qamishli, Raqqa, and in suburbs of Damascus.

Syrians kept up the protests despite the arrests and violent repression that has resulted in the killing of at least 560 civilians by President Bashar al-Assad's security forces.

In the central city of Homs, thousands marched, chanting "downfall of the regime."

Reuters