From the Reform Party of Syria:
WASHINGTON DC, March 13 /RPS News/ — Rioting in Syria expanded to Hasakah, Dirik, Amouda, and Ras el-Ein, all Kurdish majority cities in northern Syria bordering Turkey and Iraq. According to RPS sources, many Ba’ath government buildings have been scorched in Dirik and Amouda.
Kurdish and Arab leaders are calling for an uprising and indications are that Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria, is heeding the call. Kurds leaders are also calling for an uprising in Damascus.
Eyewitnesses are claiming that many civilians have been killed in Amouda and Dirik when they clashed with government forces. No exact figures were available.
And, at a sports game yesterday, three children were killed, among others, in a stampede that reportedly happened when a visiting team chanted pro-Saddam and Baathist slogans.
Some details here.
The Reform Party of Syria’s e-mail on it (which has a higher death count):
Qamoshli, SYRIA, March 12 12:25pm/RPS News/ — A soccer match between al-Jihad team of Qamoshli and al-Fatwa team of Deir el-Zour in northern Syria that started at 1pm local time, ended in at least 20 people dead and about 150 injured.
According to eyewitnesses, fans in the stands held up pro-Saddam and anti-Kurds banners and that when Kurds scuttled with them, the Mayor of Qamoshli called the internal security police and upon arrival started firing indiscriminately at the crowd.
RPS learned that most of the dead and injured were people who objected to the public display for support of Saddam. Qamoshli is a multi-ethnic city that includes Arabs and Kurds. Some fans claimed that the police joined the pro-Saddam fans and used their guns on unarmed people. The injured were transported to different area hospitals.