DAMASCUS: A Syrian official says the governor of a southern province where a deadly government crackdown killed seven protesters has been sacked. The official says Faisal Kalthoum was fired from his position in Daraa Tuesday. Three consecutive days of protests in Daraa started Friday and turned violent as security forces fired on protesters. The state order to remove Kalthoum, in post since 2006, could help ease tension in Daraa as residents accused him of being corrupt. The UN rights chief Tuesday called on Syrian authorities to carry out a transparent probe into a crackdown on demonstrators over the weekend and to halt the excessive use of force. “The government should carry out an independent, transparent and effective investigation into the killings of the protesters during the events of 18 and 20 March,” said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. “We are greatly concerned by the recent killings of protesters in Syria and reiterate the need to put an immediate halt to the excessive use of force against peaceful protestors, especially the use of live ammunition,” he added. Colville stressed that the use of excessive force was a “clear violation of international law” and that perpetrators could be prosecuted. “People have the legitimate right to express their grievances and demands to their government, and we urge the Syrian government to enter into a broad, meaningful dialogue with the protesters in an attempt to address those grievances,” the spokesman added. Thousands marched from March 18 for four straight days in Daraa, south of Damascus, defying teargas and even live firing by security forces. Hundreds of people marched in two southern Syrian towns Tuesday demanding freedom, the fifth straight day of demonstrations challenging the ruling elite. The protests took place in the city of Deraa and the nearby town of Nawa, they said. “Freedom, freedom. Peaceful, peaceful,” shouted protesters who gathered near the Old Omari mosque in Deraa, which has become the main site of demonstrations in the city. Video footage released on social media show anti-government protests in Syria have spread to a southern village and a Damascus suburb. Syrian activists who reported the protests say they took place Monday evening. The videos' authenticity could not be independently confirmed.
