Syrian president sacks government

Xinhua, March 30, 2011

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sacked the government after unrest erupted in the country and caused deaths of about 50 people, the official SANA news agency reported Tuesday.

Al-Assad has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Muhammad Naji Otri and then named him as the caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed.

Otri formed his government in 2003 and has reshuffled the cabinet several times. It was last reshuffled in April 2009.

The resignation came as anti-government protests erupted recently in parts of the country, particularly in the southern town of Daraa, about 100 km south to the capital Damascus. Clashes between the security forces and protesters killed about 50 Syrians, according to official sources.

The Syrian authorities rushed to contain the protests through taking reform steps like ending the country's emergency law, increasing state servants' incomes and releasing political detainees.

Ahmad Haj Ali, a Syrian political analyst, told Xinhua through the phone that the cabinet resignation is a part of reforms the Syrian leadership promised to adopt.

"Another number of reforms is expected to be announced shortly, including the release of detainees and plans to form new laws on the media and licensing political parties," Haj Ali said.

The Syrian authorities have accused "armed groups supported by foreign powers" of seeking to incite sectarian strife in the country, denouncing international news agencies' reports for " exaggeration and unprofessionalism" on covering latest events.

Meanwhile, around one million Syrians held demonstrations across the country to express support for the president.

Demonstrators in Damascus gathered at the center of the city, waving the national flags, holding Assad's portraits and chanting slogans like "people want Bashar al-Assad", "Allah, Syria and Bashar" and "with soul and blood we will redeem you Bashar."

Demonstrators told Xinhua they would stand with the president in fighting unrest and turmoil planed by "foreign powers" to strike the Syrian unity. "We welcome reform decisions the government has recently announced and which are to thwart the foreign conspiracy that targets Syria," they said.

Al-Assad, who has been in power for more than a decade, is expected to address the nation within the hours to announce a plan to carry out the reforms introduced by the leadership last Thursday, Syrian news TV reported.

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