Syria’s latest effort to quell anti-government protests appears to be unsuccessful: Protesters hit the streets in Damascus and Baniyas after the Syrian government passed a law lifting the country’s decades-old state of emergency. Changes include the abolition of a state security court, which tried political prisoners, and a new law allowing peaceful protests, which will still, however, require permission from the Interior Ministry. President Bashar al-Assad is expected to sign the law.
Crowds surge, "martyrs" are carried from the protest field, and gunshots ring out through the night—view videos from Syria's most recent protests as the country marches toward revolution.
After a mix of soldiers, police officers, and security forces attacked a sit-in demonstration in Homs—Syria’s third-largest city—that left up to four people killed and as many as 50 others wounded, President Bashar al-Assad’s authoritarian regime offered concessions to its people on Tuesday, while issuing a stern warning to end protests.
Videos and digital photos of the protests rattling the regime's nerves are surfacing on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, and The Daily Beast will be gathering those that paint a picture of just what's going down in the Syrian Arab Republic.
I Witness: Secret Service Arrested Students
A tweet by a Syrian journalist bears witness to the arrest of students protesting at Aleppo university on April 20th.
RT @ freelancitizen: #Syria i wetness: secret service arrested students in #Aleppo university freedom demonstration today less than a minute ago via Twitter for Android Favorite Retweet ReplyHCHOUKRIhchoukri44
A University Erupts
A brief video allegely shows students carrying a fellow protester--a medical student--injured in the crackdown at Aleppo University.
Another video from the same person shows the demonstration outside the "Faculty of Arts" at Aleppo University.
Storming the Street
A man can be seen walking slowly through the street, yelling 'Allahu Akbar!' at unseen forces. Then, they appear--dressed in black, wearing white helmets, and firing guns in the direction of the man off-camera.
A Funeral
This video, reports the Lede, "is said to show a funeral on Tuesday for two people killed in the raid on the square."
The Moment of the Shooting
The following video, originally posted on Facebook, shows protesters running from gunshots fired by unseen security forces. This was taken in the Syrian city of Homs, near the square they've renamed "Tahrir," after Egypt. Halfway through, protesters on the run can be heard shouting "Allahu Akbar!"
In Response to the Statement of the Ministry of Interior
A crowd gathers in Banias, Syria, and chants in response, the video title says, to the Interior Ministry's recent statement warning the protesters against participating in any sit-ins.
Lattakia March
Protesters marched through the Syrian port city of Lattakia at 12 a.m. local time Tuesday.
GRAPHIC: Body of a man killed by an explosive
The following allegedly shows doctors examining the body of a protester killed by an explosive. The video's lone commentator, Omar222, says "We" consider the victim to be a martyr, while wishing for the "Curse of God" on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Gunshots and a Body in Blue
In this :17 second video, two protesters can be seen carrying the body of a third--in a blue shirt--as gunshots ring out in the background. The title explains the victim was killed in the Homs sit-in.
We Want Freedom
A series of photographs posted by SyrianJasmine, a Twitter user chronicling the country's protests in Banias, a city in northwestern Syria, show the signs of the revolution. The following three were posted on Tuesday evening, local time.
Gunshots in the Night
This two-minute video, posted by UgaritNews, shows protesters running through the night as gunshots ring out all around them. Around the 1:30 mark, a protester, perhaps wounded by a bullet, or hopefully, simply resting, is shown propping himself up on the abandoned street.
Street Graffiti
A cellphone video shows various anti-regime statements scrawled out with spraypaint on the Syrian streets.
Brian Ries is tech and social media editor at The Daily Beast. He lives in Brooklyn.
