Meanwhile in Syria...

[frigidmagi]

BBC

Thousands of demonstrators have marched through the southern Syrian city of Deraa calling for greater freedoms.

The march follows the funeral of a man killed on Sunday, when security forces opened fire on protesters.

The demonstrators had set fire to buildings including the offices of the country's ruling Baath Party.

There have been days of violent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in the city, leaving at least four people dead on Friday alone.

France has again condemned the Syrian government's efforts to suppress the protests.

"France condemns the violence in which several people have died and many have been injured among the ranks of the demonstrators who gathered in Deraa on Friday, Saturday and Sunday," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said at a press briefing.

He urged the country to release all those detained for taking part in protests or "on account of their views or their actions in defence of human rights".

On Monday, the crowd was reported to have been dispersed by riot police armed with batons, the Associated Press reports.

Mourners at the funeral of 23-year-old Raed al-Kerad, who died on Sunday, chanted slogans calling for an end to corruption in the country.

"God, Syria, freedom," they shouted. "The people want the overthrow of corruption."

Reuters reports that hundreds of people also staged a sit-in another southern town, Jassem.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose Baath party has dominated politics in the country for almost 50 years, tolerates little dissent and authorities, correspondents say, are using a combination of force and concessions to try to prevent further protests.

Well I honestly didn't see this coming.

[Cynical Cat]

Well, to be fair, protests hit a lot of other countries before they hit Syria. I also thought it would be one of the least likely places, do to Bashir's relative popularity (lots of Syrians believe he's reducing corruption), Syria's minorities worrying about Iraq and Lebanon style sectarian strife if the Baathist government goes away, and the little detail of the Syrian Army having a long history of willing to murder people in large batches if the regime says so.

So anyone have a good recipe for crow?