At least one person killed as security forces open fire at funeral of Kurdish opposition leader, activists say.
Al-Jazeera, 8 Oct 2011 – Syrian security forces have opened fire at the funeral of a Kurdish opposition leader in the northern town of Qamishli, killing one person and wounding several others, activists said.
The shooting occurred as 50,000 people rallied against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Local Co-ordination Committees, which organises protests across the country, told the AFP news agency on Saturday.
Meshaal Tammo, who founded the liberal Kurdish Future Party which considers the Kurds to be an integral part of Syria, waskilled at his home on Friday when gunmen burst into his house in Qamishli, according to activists.
He was a member of the newly formed opposition Syrian National Council and had been released recently after spending three and a half years in prison. Tammo’s son was also injured in the attack, activists said.
Kurdish anger
Fares Tammo, Meshaal’s son, told Al Jazeera from Erbil in northern Iraq, that the Kurds were angry and blamed the Syrian authorities for his father’s death.
“This blood is precious to them [Kurds], they will not give up until the regime is overthrown and until the execution of Bashar al-Assad,” he said.

Activists in Damascus said Syrian authorities stepped up security in Kurdish areas in the capital.
Kurds make up about 10 per cent of Syria’s 20 million population and largely support the uprising against Assad.
They have long complained of discrimination and staged violent protests against Assad in 2004. Kurds are not allowed to teach Kurdish in schools or set up Kurdish radio stations.
While Assad has sent troops and tanks to crush protests against him which erupted in March, he also promised reforms. He has ended a state of emergency and promised parliamentary election in February.
He tried to appease the Kurds by giving citizenship to tens of thousands of them and casualties in the Kurdish areas have remained the lowest.
Many of Assad’s opponents say his reform promises are hollow and that his government has forfeited all legitimacy after killing at least 2,900 civilians, by a UN count.