Weekly review

Protests in southern Syrian city of Daraa continued on Monday, the fourth consecutive day since the demonstrations broke out on Friday.Thousands of people were present at a funeral of a man killed on Sunday in clashes between protesters and the police, a Xinhua correspondent in Daraa said. No new casualties are registered up to now, according to the correspondent. However, the Syrian security forces still surround the town to prevent protests to spread to other parts of the country.Pan-Arab Al Jazeera TV reported on Monday that five protesters were killed and other hundreds were injured so far during the violent confrontations since Friday, as the police forces used tear gas and warning shots to disperse the anger crowds. The authenticity of casualties, however, could not be independently confirmed.Angry protesters reportedly stormed government buildings in Daraa, setting fire to the ruling Al-Baath party's headquarters, the court house and two phone company branches.Syrian authorities accused on Monday that "infiltrators set fire to public and private property and shot policemen," evoking horror among inhabitants. The government also vowed to punish those "involved figures" and protect the citizens and their property.The protests erupted in Daraa on Friday, when a large group of people emerged from the al-Omari mosque, taking to the street and shouting slogans against corruption and calling for more political freedoms.Earlier this month, 15 students were arrested in Daraa for writing slogans on a school walls reading "people want to topple the regime," and they were released a few days later.The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon condemned on Saturday what he called "Syria's harsh crackdown on protests and use of lethal force against demonstrators."