A/HRC/18/53 were held, on 18 and 25 March, without any confrontation with security forces.60 During a demonstration on 26 March, security forces fired at demonstrators when they tried to topple a statue of the President.61 Witnesses said Shabbiha members fought alongside the security forces, reportedly attacking some of the demonstrators with knives. A demonstration on 8 April was described as particularly bloody, although witnesses were unable to say how many demonstrators were killed or injured. They claimed that, after the shooting stopped, garbage trucks were brought in by the security forces to pick bodies up off the streets. 61. The demonstrations in Aleppo began on 15 March, but have been largely confined to student demonstrations in the city’s university. Several such demonstrations were held in April and May, mostly at night. According to witness accounts, some demonstrations were broken up by military and security forces in combination with other groups said to have been “recruited” for this purpose.62 One of the larger demonstrations took place on 30 June, when over 400 students were said to have been arrested. 62. In the governorate of Dayr Az Zawr, located in the east of Syria and sharing a border with Iraq, smaller demonstrations were first organized in mid-March, but grew larger over several weeks. According to witness accounts, security and intelligence personnel regularly filmed the protestors for the purposes of identification, and numerous arrests were made. In the demonstrations held on 20 April and 27 May, during which snipers were positioned on rooftops, witnesses said demonstrators were dispersed with tear gas and shots in the air. 63. The governorate of Al Hasakah, a predominantly Kurdish region located in the north-east and sharing borders with both Turkey and Iraq, witnessed demonstrations in a number of locations, including in the cities of Al Hasakah, Al Qamishli, Ra’s al ‘Ayn and Amouda. The demonstrations, which were relatively small, called for basic civil and political rights for the Kurdish minority in the Syrian Arab Republic. According to witnesses, the security forces refrained from using lethal force in this region, but infiltrated some of the protests to identify activists. A small number were arrested but later released, apparently after signing documents in which they pledged not to participate in future demonstrations. B. Response of the Government 64. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has addressed five notes verbales to OHCHR in relation to the mandate of the mission. Although the Government has continued to cooperate with OHCHR, it did not grant the mission access to the country. 65. On 30 March, President Assad announced his intention to introduce a raft of reforms, including the lifting of emergency laws, the abolition of the Supreme State Security Court and amnesties for certain prisoners and detainees. The proposed reforms included legislation to regulate the right to peaceful assembly and the establishment of political parties, as well as the establishment of committees to draft electoral and 60 61 62 18 According to nine witnesses who later fled to Turkey, on 18 March, , the demonstrators walked towards Al Shaikh Daher square carrying olive branches. There were no clashes with security forces, but some altercations took place with scores of Alawite residents who tried to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the square. Witnessed stated that some of the forces firing at them were dressed in military uniform, others in civilian clothes, and others in black fatigues. In one instance, witnesses claimed that armed groups belonging to a local clan referred to in the accounts as baltajiyya (literally “axe carriers”, but closer in meaning to “thugs”) took part in breaking up protests and intimidating the demonstrators. The mission was unable to further investigate this claim.