DAMASCUS - Thousands of people protested in the Syrian city of Deraa on Sunday as a government delegation arrived to pay condolences for victims killed by security forces in demonstrations for freedom this week, residents said. The government sought to appease popular discontent by promising to release 15 children whose arrest helped fuel the protests, the boldest challenge to the ruling elite since uprisings swept the Arab world this year. The demonstration marks the third day of protests in Deraa, a main city in the strategic Hauran plateau. Syrian authorities said on Sunday they would release 15 children whose arrest helped fuel protests during which security forces killed four civilians. An official statement said the children, who had written freedom slogans on walls inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, would be released immediately. The statement is a rare case of Syria's ruling hierarchy responding to popular pressure. The country of 20 million has been ruled by the Baath Party since it took power in a 1963 coup and imposed emergency law still in force. Security forces opened fire on Friday on civilians taking part in a peaceful protest in the southern city of Deraa demanding the release of the children, all under 16, as well as political freedoms and an end to corruption. Four were killed. On Saturday thousands of mourners called for "revolution" at the funeral of two of the protesters, in the boldest challenge to Syria's rulers since uprisings began sweeping the Arab world.
