DAMASCUS: A scenic seaside city echoed with gunfire Saturday as protesters defied government forces in Syria's second day of nationwide unrest, burning tires, attacking businesses and setting the offices of the ruling party aflame. At least two people were killed by rooftop snipers in Latakia, officials said, and President Bashar Al-Assad's government blamed a cleric in Qatar for inciting the unrest. The government also said demonstrators had also attacked a police station and offices of the Baath party in the town of Tafas, 10 km north of the southern border city of Daraa, epicenter of more than a week of anti-government protests. On Friday, Syrian troops and soldiers opened fire in at least six cities, towns and villages, killing some 15 protesters, according to witnesses, activists and footage posted on social networking sites. Dozens of people protested in Latakia before attacking the Baath party's offices in Syria's main Mediterranean port, said Ammar Qurabi, an exile in Egypt who heads Syria's National Organization for Human Rights. Syrian presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban said Qatar-based Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi had incited people to revolt with his sermon in Doha Friday. Shaaban said that a group of Palestinians had come into Latakia from a refugee camp with weapons and opened fire, killing a policeman and two protesters. A Syrian official said that two passersby were killed and two others wounded in Latakia by sniper fire from rooftops. Assad appeared to be trying to appease demonstrators in Daraa, pulling back police and soldiers. His government also released hundreds of political prisoners in an attempt to appease demonstrators furious about the violent government crackdown on dissent. A resident told AP that security forces had withdrawn to the outskirts of Daraa.
