SYRIA’S PRESIDENT HAS pulled security forces from Daraa city in the south of Syria today and released over 200 political prisoners in an effort to appease demonstrators.

Yesterday, troops opened fire on peaceful protesters in cities across the country and killed at least 15, including in the capital Damascus.

Thousands of people poured into the city’s main square after Friday prayers calling for political reforms from President Bashar Assad, an ally of Iran and the son of former ruler Hafez Assad.

Security forces also stormed a protest sit-in near Damascus at around midnight last night and protesters claimed several people were injured.

Activists have called for peaceful protests today after the funerals of those killed yesterday. Al Jazeera reports that the demonstrators are not calling for regime change, but for greater political reform such as freedom of expression and an end to corruption.

Some 260 political prisoners have been released, the AFP reports. Syrian human rights activist Abdul Karim Rihawi said that most of those released today had been held at prison near Damascus where political detainees are usually kept.

He said that most of them had already served three-quarters of their term and were entitled to be released, although officials rarely exercise that right.

- Additional reporting from the AP