Security forces in Syria have clashed with thousands of anti-government protesters in the southern city of Deraa for a third straight day.
Angry protesters are said to have
set fire to
local offices of the ruling Baath Party and a court building.
At least one person was killed and several wounded. The demonstrators are calling for the release of political prisoners. From neighbouring Beirut, Owen Bennett Jones reports.
The protesters and the government have very different
account
s of what’s happening in Deraa, but both sides agree that violence is continuing and that buildings and cars have been set alight. The official news agency in Syria suggests that it’s the work of what it describes as ‘instigators’ carrying out
sabotage
. Other reports from Deraa say the protesters are demanding political change in Syria, and
in particular
, an end to nearly five decades of emergency rule.
The President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has dismissed his government as the pressure grows for his own resignation following big street demonstrations. The President has faced a string of resignations from ministers and officials since the killings of at least 52 people at an anti-government demonstration on Friday. The Yemeni state news agency says Mr Saleh has asked his cabinet to remain in place in a care-taker capacity.
World News from the BBC
Officials in Egypt say voters have approved a referendum, introducing