Syria says it will consider ending the country’s emergency law as part of a series of reforms, following nearly a week of deadly anti-government protests.
An aide to President Bashar al-Assad says the government will study the idea of scrapping the law, in place since Syria’s Baath Party took power in 1963. The law bans all opposition to the Baath party.
Anti-government protesters have been demanding that President Assad end the emergency law, curb Syria’s pervasive security apparatus, free political prisoners and allow freedom of expression.
Witnesses reported more than 30 people were killed in clashes Wednesday between security forces and protesters in the southern city of Daraa.
The United States condemned the Syrian government’s “brutal repression of demonstrations,” and it urged authorities to respect the rights of the Syrian people.
Syrian state-run media said four people were killed Wednesday in Daraa when an “armed gang” attacked a medical team.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the unrest in Daraa. She said the use of live ammunition and excessive force against peaceful protesters must end immediately.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Syria should follow the example of Egypt, where the army allowed pro-democracy demonstrations.
