Breaking: Syria's cabinet resigns

As anti-Assad protests grow across Syria, the country’s cabinet has resigned.

The resignation on Tuesday comes as tens of thousands of Syrians rallied in support of the government, as the nation awaited an expected address by President Bashar al-Assad following more than a week of anti-government protests.

Government supporters poured into the streets of the capital Damascus and other major cities to take part in Tuesday’s government-sanctioned rallies. The demonstrators chanted and waved flags and pictures of the president.

These pro-government protests are the rent-a-mobs we tend to see in totalitarian states. The real protests are against the Assad regime, and took down a statue of the late Hafez al-Assad in Daraa on Friday. And they have paid dearly.

Syrian security officials have cracked down on the demonstrations, firing tear gas and live ammunition to disperse protesters. The U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch says at least 61 people have been killed since the unrest began.