Syria Live Blog - April 19

Syria Live Blog - April 19

Thousands continue to take to the streets across Syria, despite reform pledges by president Bashar al-Assad. We bring you the latest news from our correspondents and other sources.

• Timestamp: 

  10:30pm

  Anthony Shadid from The International Herald Tribune writes about the Syrian government crackdown on protesters while promising reform. Read the full article here.

• Timestamp: 

  9:00pm

  Hugh Macleod and a reporter in Syria that we can not name for security reasons filed this report about the continues protests in Homs and the rest of the country. Read the full article here.

• Timestamp: 

  7:45pm

  Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith wraps the latest's development in Syria.
  
• Timestamp: 

  7:20pm

  Al Jazeera's Cal Perry, reporting from Damascus, discusses the lifting of Syria's emergency law.
  

• Timestamp: 

  5:00pm

  The Syrian interior ministry has called Syrians in an official statement released, not to take part in protest rallies, demonstrations or sit-ins under any pretext .
  
  The statement, which came hours after a similar statement that accused  those it called Salafist groups of organizing an armed insurgency, in Homs and Baniyas in particular, has also  warned  that authorities  would firmly apply the law for maintaining  security and stability in the country.

• Timestamp: 

  4:30pm

  The Syrian government has passed a bill lifting the country's emergency law, which has been in place for 48 years. This is a key demand of pro-reform demonstrators who have been holding protests across the country for weeks.
  
  A senior lawyer said Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, was yet to sign the legislation, but that his signature was a formality.
  
  According to the country's official SANA news agency the government also abolished the state security court, which handled the trials of political prisoners, and approved a new law allowing the right to peaceful protests.
  
  Syria's emergency law gave the government a free hand to arrest people without charge and extended the state's authority into virtually every aspect of citizens' lives.

• Timestamp: 

  2:57pm

  Al-Ikhbariya Syrian TV news channel says dozens of students tried to stage a protest at Damascus university's medical school. 

  The channel descried the gathering as "an attempt to creat chaos", says Al Jazeera's Rula Amin.

• Timestamp: 

  2:27pm

  The Syrian interior ministry warns citizens against taking part in any further demonsrations "under any banner whatsoever", reports AFP news agency.

• Timestamp: 

  2:15pm

  Baroness Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, tells Al Jazeera that representatives of the 27-member bloc are "very worried" about the situation in Syria.

  There has to be an end to violence. The first thing is we've got to stop the violence. The government has got to take its reponsibilities seriously.

  Lifting the emergency law, something that's been promised, has to happen. And the reforms - the president has been out there saying: 'These are the reforms we're going to do." We call on him to actually start to implement them - in all circumstances; dialogue, moving forward, responding to the legitimate wishes of the people.

  Would the EU support regime change in Syria?

  The important thing is for people to determine their own future. In some countries, what we've seen is governments responding to that call, putting in place reforms, moving forward - and the people have gone with that, they've seen that as very positive.

  Government's responsibility is to respond to its people, to be mindful of what they want and to be clear about their needs.

  When people feel that doesn't happen, you then hear that frustration coming through. And one of the reasons I'm a passionate advocate of democracy is that democracy not only allows you to elect people, it allows you to say goodbye.

  Baroness Ashton also spoke to us about Libya and Bahrain. We'll bring you the full interview online very soon...

• Timestamp: 

  12:39pm

  Syrian state media says that three army officers and three children were killed "by armed criminal gangs" in Homs, reports the AFP news agency. Official news agency SANA said:

  Armed criminal gangs who block roads and spread fear in the area, came upon General Abdo Khodr Al-Tellawi, his two children and his nephew, and killed them in cold blood.

  Two other officers "fell as martyrs to armed criminal gang's bullets in Homs", the agency said.

  The victims' bodies were "mutilated", SANA added.

• Timestamp: 

  12:23pm

  Struggling to keep track of which city is where? Here's a handy map...

  

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  11:24am

  More from Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, summarising events surrounding the sit-down protest in the Syrian city of Homs that was reportedly dispersed by gunfire last night.

  As time passes without reforms being seen to be instituted, protesters' demands are growing, she says.

  Rula reports from Damascus on the fine line being walked by both protesters and the government.

• Timestamp: 

  11:16am

  Keep abreast of our indepth coverage of Syria's unrest with out spotlight page. Check it out by clicking here.

  

• Timestamp: 

  10:07am

  Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Damascus, tells us:

  Tens of thousands took part in the funeral yesterday, then a few thousand stayed in square and staged a sit in. They said it was peaceful, and had a few demands. As the day advanced into the evening, however, the security forces said they could not stay.

  They refused to leave, and that's when the gunshots began.

  This is what officials were worried about, that people would be emboldened by events as they have been growing ... with every day that passes and no significant reforms introduced, the goals of protesters get higher.

  Not all want the end of the regime, many still simply want reforms, and if this government completes them, then fine, but if not - they say they will go all the way.

  Both government and protesters are walking a fine line here.

• Timestamp: 

  9:57am

  After a night of protest turned violent, several people in the Syrian city of Homs were left injured.

  With gunfire reported at a sit-in protest on Monday night, demands that President Bashar al-Assad have been growing.

  Al Jazeera's Cal Perry, reporting from Damascus, has the latest.

• Timestamp: 

  7:24am

  Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith wraps up yesterday's events. 

• Timestamp: 

  7:15am

  Welcome to our liveblog for April 19. We'll keep you updated, right here, with all the latest news and reports from Syria through the day. But if you want to catch up on events, read yesterday's blog by clicking here: Syria Live Blog April 18.