Releads with cabinet, prisoner release, includes Lebanon arms interception (first version posted at 21:29)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced the formation of a new cabinet on Thursday, following the release of hundreds of detained protesters, dpa reported.
The cabinet, headed by premier Adel Safar, includes new ministers of the interior, finance, and information, state media reported.
Mohamed Ibrahim al-Sha'ar, an intelligence officer, was named the new minister of the interior. The head of Syria's official state news agency Adnan Hassan Mahmoud was appointed minister of information.
Mohamed al-Jilyati, head of the Damascus Stock Exchange, was named minister of finance.
Safar, a former minister of agriculture, was appointed by al-Assad to form a new cabinet earlier this month amidst widespread anti- government protests.
The heads of the key ministries of defence and foreign affairs remained unchanged.
It remains to be seen whether the new government formation will appease protesters in Syria, where the president and security forces have held most of the power since al-Assad's Ba'ath Party took control of the country in 1963.
Syrian activists online continued to call for protests demanding al-Assad's ouster throughout the country on Friday.
"Tomorrow is the day of victory, we will join forces peacefully until we gain our freedom," the Facebook group called "Syrian Revolution 2011" posted on its page.
The cabinet announcement came after one soldier was killed and another injured by snipers in the north-western city of Banias, according to state media.
The Syrian military was preparing to deploy heavily into the city, which has seen intense clashes between protesters and security forces in recent weeks.
Syrian security released hundreds of detainees earlier on Thursday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported they had been tortured.
The rights group said the detainees had been accused of taking part in anti-government protests last week in Banias and the nearby town of Baida.
Testimony by the recently released group of detainees prove that that they were subject to severe acts of torture, said the rights group.
Meanwhile, Lebanese security forces stopped two cars loaded with weapons entering from the Lebanese border into Syria, Lebanese radio reported quoting the Syrian news agency SANA.
Lebanese custom officials at the border could not confirm or deny the news item.
Syria's ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdel Karim Ali, called on Lebanese authorities on Thursday to carry out legal action against Lebanese parliamentarian Jamal Jarrah, who is loyal to former premier Saad Hariri, for allegedly arming Syrian protesters to destabilize the country.
Ali requested authorities should take action "to preserve brotherly ties between the two countries," he told the Intiqad website, which is run by the Syrian-supported group Hezbollah.
The comments came a day after Syrian television aired confessions from detainees saying they received money and arms from Lebanon to ignite protests and destabilize the country.
One of the detainees specifically named Jarrah, who belongs to the Future Current Movement led by former Lebanese premier Saad Hariri.
Jarrah has denied all Syrian allegations.
Al-Assad and state media have repeatedly blamed conspirators for the deadly unrest surrounding anti-government protests, which broke out in Syria on March 15.