Syrians 'forced to attend Assad rallies'

(CNN) -- Syrian workers and students were forced to attend rallies in support of President Bashar al-Assad this week, a human rights campaigner from the country told CNN Wednesday.

Government workers were ordered to attend the rallies, said Ammar Qurabi, chairman of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.

Qurabi provided CNN with a copy of what he said were leaked official government documents saying that government workers who refused to attend would have their pay docked and would be considered absent from work for the day.

CNN could not independently confirm the authenticity of the document. Syria has not responded to Qurabi's allegations.

Qurabi, who is from Syria but is currently in Egypt, says his organization received complaints from dozens of college students across the country that were forced to attend the rallies or face losing academic credits for the year.

Executives of pro-Assad corporations such as Rami Makhlouf's SyriaTel also required employees to attend the rallies by threatening to dock pay, Qurabi charged.

Syria's official news agency SANA reported Tuesday that "millions of Syrian citizens gathered in the public squares in support of the comprehensive reform program under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad."

State TV showed images Tuesday of thousands joining pro-regime rallies in Daraa, Aleppo and Homs. Some in the crowds chanted, "With our blood, with our souls, we will sacrifice for you, Bashar" and "God, Syria and Bashar only."

In addition to the pro-Assad demonstrations, fighting raged in a major Syrian city Tuesday, with at least two people killed and several others wounded, an activist group said.

Clashes erupted between protesters and security forces in Homs, according to the Local Coordination Committee in Syria, a network of activists that promotes and documents demonstrations across the country.

They occurred in al-Khalidiya neighborhood, and video said to be from the Homs unrest shows protesters running and throwing rocks and contains sounds of heavy gunfire. CNN cannot independently confirm the information.

Demonstrations critical of the government began in the southern city of Daraa months ago and were swiftly suppressed by security forces. Anti-government fervor caught on nationwide as more protests were met with tougher crackdowns.

After three months of protests, more than 1,100 have died and thousands more have been jailed, according to human rights activists.

Qurabi, the activist with the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, said Tuesday that dozens of protesters were arrested the day before during peaceful anti-government demonstrations in the city of Aleppo.

The world's attention has been focused on the plight of Syrians displaced from their homes by violence.

At least 10,718 Syrian refugees, many of whom fled a military advance in and around the city of Jisr al-Shugur, have crossed the border into Turkey.

The U.N. refugee agency Tuesday said it participated in a government-sponsored mission to Jisr al-Shugur the day before, a trip that included diplomats, reporters and U.N. agencies.

"There was no evidence of people working in the fields. Jisr al-Shugur itself was almost deserted, with most shops shuttered and closed," the agency said, which "indicates significant displacement."

The agency said many people are "severely traumatized" by the ordeal.

"Syrian refugees spoke to our team about their fears and trauma. Many had lost family members, who they said were either killed, missing or in hiding. Our team heard accounts of murders, targeted assassinations, assaults, civilians getting killed in crossfire, torture and humiliation by the military," the agency said. "Most of these people had lost virtually all their belongings and property. In many cases their livestock were shot, fields were torched, and homes and businesses destroyed or confiscated."

On Monday, al-Assad offered vague promises of reform and called for refugees to go back home.

Al-Assad said he was "working on getting the military back to their barracks as soon as possible" but also warned the government would "work on tracking down everyone who shed blood or plotted in shedding the blood of the Syrian people, and we will hold them accountable."

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report.

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U.N. calls to end forced displacement

Palestinians are gearing up to commemorate Nakba DayLarge demonstrations are expected in the West Bank, Jerusalem and in Israel SundayThe Israeli military has closed West Bank crossings in anticipation of the protestsThe United Nations' Valerie Amos is on a four-day visit of the region

Jerusalem (CNN) -- The U.N. humanitarian chief appealed Saturday for an end to forced displacement, one day before Palestinians are set to mark what they call the Nakba -- a day to commemorate the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians that accompanied the creation of Israel.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos arrived in Jerusalem for a four-day tour to the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, her office said. She is expected to meet with members of the Palestinian leadership and also hopes to meet with Israeli authorities.

"These policies lead to forced displacement of Palestinians from Jerusalem and from the rest of the West Bank," Amos said in a statement about rules that limit new construction and the land available for Palestinian use.

"Palestinians must be able to plan and develop their communities. They must be able to access education and health care facilities and to conduct their professional and personal lives without restriction," she said.

She spoke just one day before Palestinians are expected to commemorate the Nakba -- translated as "catastrophe" in Arabic -- which commemorates the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in warfare that led to the establishment of Israel in 1948. More than 700,000 people fled or were forced from their homes during the fighting.

Their fate and that of their descendants has proven to be a key stumbling block to any Mideast peace. For most Palestinians the eventual return to their former homes in what is now Israel remains a fundamental requirement, while Israelis argue that any large-scale return of refugees would spell the end of the Jewish majority state.

Large demonstrations are predicted in the West Bank, Jerusalem and in other parts of Israel on Sunday to mark the day. In advance of the commemoration, the Israeli military closed West Bank crossings, it said.

For the past two days, military checkpoints along the Sinai have been turning back hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists intending to demonstrate Sunday at the Egypt-Gaza border.

"Hopefully, this will be the last time the 15th of May will be remembered as the Nakba," said Tarek Shalaby, a 26-year-old social media consultant. "The next time it will be known as the successful uprising, the third intifada."

The word intifada is popularly used to describe a revolt or rebellion. Palestinians have staged two intifadas, which began in 1987 and 2000 respectively. Violence surrounding the second intifada claimed the lives of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians.

Shalaby was turned around by the army on the road between Cairo and Rafah.

"We will try again tomorrow to go to Rafah but if that fails we'll head right to the Israeli Embassy in Cairo to protest," Shalaby said.

On Friday, about 6,000 Palestinian refugees gathered near Jordan's border with Israel to demand to return to their ancestral homes. Organizers of that rally said the demonstration will continue through Sunday to coincide with the start of the so-called third intifada.

Palestinians have used social media to call for multiple demonstrations this year.

Last month, a controversial Facebook page calling for another Palestinian intifada was pulled off the social media website, following complaints from the Israeli government that it incited violence against Jews.

The Facebook page in question was set up in early March by a group of unidentified activists who called for a third intifada to start on May 15.

A statement from Facebook said the group page entitled the "Third Palestinian Intifada" -- which had garnered more than 350,000 "likes" over the course of a month -- was removed from the website because it contained direct calls for violence.

CNN's Kevin Flower and Journalist Ian Lee contributed to this report.

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