Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fired the governor of the city of Hama Saturday after an estimated half a million people protested against Assad's continued rule of the country Friday. Hama is the city where Bashar's father, Hafez al-Assad, exterminated 20,000 people in 1982 when residents demanded that he step down.

Activists said that 28 protesters were killed in fresh violence over the weekend by Syrian forces who opened fire on protesters.