Syria protesters set fire to courthouse

DARAA: Hundreds of protesters set alight to the courthouse, other buildings and cars in the southern Syrian town of Daraa on Sunday during violent protests, an AFP correspondent said. The violence came after at least one person was killed and more than 100  wounded, including two in critical condition, when security forces used live rounds against thousands of protesters on a third straight day of demonstrations in the city, rights activists said. The protesters in Daraa, where four other people were killed on Friday, according to rights groups, have been demanding an end to 48 years of emergency law, the release of political prisoners and greater freedoms. An AFP correspondent in Daraa said protesters also torched offices of mobile phone providers MTN and Syriatel and tried to march on the home of the town's governor, but security forces used warning shots and tear gas to stop them. Several hundred protesters set off from the town's old city and started torching buildings, cars and the courthouse despite attempts by security forces to disperse them. Unable to march to the governor's house, a group of protesters set alight to trees outside the residence, witnesses said. Daraa, 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Damascus, has been the scene of rare and violent protests since Friday. Inspired by popular protests for reform and democracy in Tunisia and Egypt, calls for protests in Syria have been launched on Facebook pages.