Since mid-March, Syria has been rattled by a wave of popular unrest in which activists say more than 200 people have been killed. In a country where foreign journalists are barred from reporting and state media stick to the government line, amateur photos and videos are among the only ways of getting information from the ground. Here is a brief selection of the most striking amateur videos of the Syrian uprising.





Latakia, March 27: The army opens fire on protesters for the first time

After showing relative restraint during the first week of protests, the army opened fire on protesters in the northern city of Latakia for the first time on March 27. According to our Observer , the soldiers encouraged demonstrators to gather in the city’s main square before opening fire.

Deraa, April 1: The repression continues

The protest movement has died out in most of the country, except in Deraa and Latakia, where people still come en masse from neighbouring villages to participate in the demonstrations. On April 1, a student demonstration is brutally crushed at a police barricade near Deraa.









Qamishli, April 1: The Kurdish revolt

Syria’s Kurdish minority joined the protest movement belatedly, for fear of being accused of dividing the Syrian people. They finally took to the streets on Friday, April 1, during a Kurdish "Day of Anger" .The following video was shot in Qamishili, in the north of the country.





Deraa, April 8: Evidence of police brutality

This is one of the most shocking amateur videos of the Syrian uprising, and the most damning one for the Syrian police. After opening fire on protesters in Deraa, police officers savagely beat up a person lying unconscious on the floor, then drag the body down the street.





Deraa, April 12 : “No more fear! No more fear!”

Deraa has become the symbol of the protest movement. Its citizens openly criticise every member of the ruling Assad clan. Here, protesters shout "No more fear! No more fear!" while shattering a statue of Hafez al-Assad, president Bashar al-Assad’s father.





Banias, April 13: The women take to the streets