Dozens of Syrians on Tuesday staged a protest in front of the Syrian Embassy in Cairo, denouncing a violent crackdown by the regime against peaceful pro-democracy protests. Authorities heightened security around the embassy as protesters demanded the removal and prosecution of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime. The protesters also stressed that Assad has lost legitimacy as president. Pro-reform protests in Syria began in March. Some estimates put the number of protesters killed by Syrian forces at 1300. Demonstrators in Cairo hoisted banners calling for real forms and a halt to security force violence against fellow citizens. Others depicted the victims of the crackdown. The demonstrators called on Syrian Ambassador Youssef Ahmed to resign and join them, as Libya's and Yemen's ambassadors to Cairo have done in recent months to protest their country's regimes. Protesters waved Syrian and Turkish flags in support of Turkey's pro-revolution stance and lambasted the Arab League for its relative silence.
