More than 20,000 people have thronged the main square in the central Syrian city of Homs, erecting tents and vowing to stay put until the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government, an activist says.
"More than 20,000 people are taking part in the sit-in at Al-Saa Square (Clock Square) and we have renamed it Tahrir Square like the one in Cairo," Najati Tayyara said from Homs.
The protesters put up tents in Al-Saa Square, emulating demonstrators in Egypt who forced veteran president Hosni Mubarak to quit in February after 18 days of protests in the Cairo's emblematic Tahrir Square.
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"It is an open-ended sit-in which will continue until all our demands are satisfied," Tayyara said.
"This despotic regime must change. We have been waiting for 11 years for reforms," said Tayyara, in reference to the 11-year rule of Assad, who succeeded his autocratic father Hafez following his
death in 2000.
Protesters in Al-Saa Square chanted "sit-in, sit-in until the fall of the regime," and "Freedom, Freedom" -- indicating their will not to budge until the authorities meet their demands.
Tayyara said the people are demanding greater freedoms, the release from jail of all political prisoners and an end to arbitrary arrests on political grounds.
"The young people are ready to face anything, including martyrdom," said Tayyara.
The embattled Assad, who is facing unprecedented popular protests since March 15, vowed on Saturday to forge ahead with a string of reforms, including lifting nearly five decades of draconian emergency law.
But his pledge in a speech to a newly formed government was met with fresh protests across Syria, where on Sunday at least 11 people were killed by security forces, including seven in Homs.
