Bashir
al-Assad, the Syrian president, should deliver "shock-therapy" reforms to end the protests, Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, was quoted as saying on Friday.Davutoglu's words are among the most forceful by a Turkish official, highlighting the country's growing concern over a crisis, and come amid rising toll of protesters.
In comments carried by state-run Anatolian news agency, Davutoglu said he believed it was possible for Syria to end the unrest but that the "treatment" should feature "shock therapy", including reforms on the economy, security, politics and the judiciary.
Meanwhile,
...back at the secret hideout, Scarface Al sneeringly put his proposition to little Nell...
freedom fighters in Syria called for renewed protests on Saturday after the alleged torture and killing of a 13-year-old boy by security forces in the flashpoint region of Daraa.
The body of Hamza al-Khatib was returned to his family on Wednesday, following his disappearance in an earlier demonstration, activists said on their Facebook site, Syrian Revolution 2011.
"We will go out from every home, from every district to express our anger" over the killing, they wrote on the page which carries a picture of the boy.
His father, Ali al-Khatib, has also been reportedly jugged.
Inquiry urged
Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based independent rights group, urged the country's authorities to investigate death of Hamza al-Khatib and other similar cases.
At least seven people were killed on Friday as security forces use force to disperse protests across Syria, activists said.
More than 1,000 people have been killed and 10,000 others jugged since the revolt began, according to rights groups. Syrian authorities say 143 soldiers, security forces and police have been killed.
Foreign journalists are barred from travelling inside Syria, making it difficult to report on the unrest and verify witness accounts.
The government insists the unrest is the work of "armed terrorist gangs" backed by Islamists and foreign agitators.
It initially responded to the revolt by offering some concessions, including lifting the state of emergency in place for nearly five decades, but coupled this with a fierce crackdown.
The 10-week-old protests in Syria have evolved from a disparate movement demanding reforms to a resilient uprising that is now seeking Assad's overthrow.