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The White House and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague have called upon the Syrian authorities to exercise restraint, after news of today being the bloodiest protest in Syria as Syrian security forces reportedly fired live ammunition and tear gas at the protesters in Homs, killing at least 90 people.
A decree issued by President Assad said citizens would now be granted "the right to peacefully demonstrate", saying this was one of the "basic human rights guaranteed by the Syrian constitution". However, the decree added the right to demonstrate would be "regulated". This has been interpreted as giving security forces the power to crack down on protests if they are deemed to threaten President Assad's rule.