Tunisia Demo Protests Deadly Syria Crackdown

Dozens of people protested Wednesday outside the Syrian embassy in Tunisia, where the Arab world uprisings began, to demand an end to the "carnage" in Syria and the departure of President Bashar al-Assad.

The demonstrators also called for Tunis to expel the Syrian ambassador.

"We want to show Syrians that the silence is over and we will stand against the carnage perpetrated by the regime," protest coordinator Essia Belhassen, from the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, told Agence France Presse.

"Your time is over, Bashar the dictator," demonstrators shouted.

Tunisian political parties, non-government groups and independent personalities have formed a collective to support the Syrian people, said former human rights magistrate Mokhtar Yahyaoui.

The Syrian uprising is among several in the Arab world sparked by one in Tunisia that ended the 23-year rule of authoritarian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14.

About 300 people were killed in the four-week Tunisian uprising, including in security force action, the United Nations said. More than 2,000 have died in Syria's protests which started mid-March, according to rights groups.

Tunisia is scheduled to host on September 12 the Syrian opposition's first international congress to which the United Nations, European Union and Amnesty International have been invited.