Syrian leader names new governors as protests mount

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DAMASCUS, Oct 23 (AFP): Syria's under-fire president Sunday appointed two new governors in flashpoint provinces that have seen staunch protests against his regime, as security forces reportedly killed two more civilians. State television said President Bashar al-Assad named new governors for the northwestern province of Idlib and for the Damascus governorate, both of which have seen massive anti-regime demonstrations over the past seven months. Assad has sacked several governors since the wave of protests erupted in mid-March, including the Hama governor who was dismissed in July after after a record 500,000 protesters rallied there against the regime. Yasser Salman el-Shufi was named as Idlib's new governor while Makhluf Makhluf was appointed governor for the Damascus province. Activists meanwhile called for fresh protests Sunday under the slogan: "It's your turn" -- a reference to Assad -- hoping to force him out of power in the way Libyans ended the rule of Moamer Kadhafi. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a funeral for two civilians shot dead at dawn quickly turned into an anti-regime rally in the flashpoint province of Hama. Angry mourners in the Hama village of Al-Madiq "demanded the fall of the regime," the Britain-based group said in a statement received by in Nicosia. Hama's history is steeped in blood. An estimated 20,000 people were killed there in 1982 when the army put down an Islamist revolt against the rule of Assad's late father, Hafez al-Assad. Meanwhile troops backed by security forces raided Sunday the villages of Dael and Ibtaa in the southern province of Daraa, cradle of the pro-democracy protests, to end a strike by residents. "The military forces removed barricades set up by the residents in Dael and Ibraa," the Observatory said, adding that the strike had been launched four days earlier.