DAMASCUS (Agencies) – Syria pays the price for saying no to Israel and America for a long time. We are proud of belonging to Syria, the only independent state that refused to give up resistance, the Syrian writer Colette Khoury said on Monday.

Interviewed by the Syrian TV Satellite Channel, she added “nowadays, we pass through a serious stage in Syria. It isn’t a matter of reform, not anymore. It is about Syria and the Syrian people.”
In turn, the Lebanese Political Analyst Faysal Abd el-Sater said “what Syria faces is so far from what is called demands or reforms. It is obvious in President Bashar al-Assad's directives in response to the popular demands of change and political reform, blocking those who want to destabilize the region, in other words the U.S. and other regional powers.”
Several killed in southern Syria
Meanwhile, several people have been killed and many more injured after armed groups clashed with Syrian security forces in the southern city of Daraa.
According to Press TV, Syrian authorities say at least seven people, including four soldiers, were killed during the overnight clashes in the city. Some reports, however, put the death toll at 25.
Syrian authorities blame armed groups and foreign elements for the violence.
Damascus has repeatedly denied allegations that security forces are responsible for the death of protesters, saying they have been given clear instructions not to hurt civilians.