Anti-Arab League rallies sweep Syria
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Xinhua, November 28, 2011
Tens of thousands Syrians held anti-Arab League rallies across the country on Monday, expressing discontent with the economic sanctions imposed a day earlier by the organization.
The government supporters streamed into the Sabaa Bahrat square in the heart of the capital Damascus and the Saad Allah Al-Jabiri square in the city of Aleppo, waving flags and posters featuring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Damascus and Aleppo, two economic powerhouses of Syria, have been relatively calm during the past eight-month unrest except for some suburbs.
Similar rallies were also seen in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour and the northeastern province of Raqaa.
The pro-government rallies have recently become a daily occurrence in Syria, with the participants expressing rejection to the decision by the Arab League (AL) to impose economic sanctions for Syria's failure to put an end to the violence.
Right after an AL meeting proposed the sanctions against Syria on Saturday, hundreds of Assad supporters held a rally at the Sabaa Baharat square in a show of defiance.
The AL on Sunday approved the sanctions, which included freezing the Syrian government's funds, halting trade with the Syrian government and central bank, suspending flights to Syria.
The resolution on the sanctions was backed by 19 members of the 22-nation organization. Iraq and Lebanon, two neighbor countries of Syria did not vote in favor.
Syria became the second member state punished by the AL this year after Libya due to its handling of domestic protests.
The AL agreed to support the establishment of a no-fly zone in Libya in March, which paved the way for a UN resolution against Libya.
Syria's anti-government protests first erupted in mid-March. The UN figures show that some 3,500 people have been killed in clashes during the protests. The Syrian government blamed armed groups for launching the attacks.
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