Dead 13-year-old is the symbol of Syrian uprising

Amman, Jordan: The treatment of children has emerged as a flash point issue in the uprising against the Syrian regime after the alleged torture and killing of a 13-year-old boy.

The death of Hamza al-Khatib sparked widespread outrage after images of his tortured and mutilated body emerged on social media websites.

Hundreds of Jordanians and Syrian nationals gathered outside Syria's embassy in Jordan on Wednesday to protest his death and the continuing crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Many of the demonstrators carried placards with Hamza's image superimposed over the Syrian national flag.

Syria's government has tried to blunt the anger with promises to investigate the killing of the 13-year-old, who has become a symbol of the Syrian uprising.

But protesters deride that and other government concessions, including an amnesty that freed political prisoners on Wednesday and a committee to prepare for national dialogue, as nothing more than a ploy to buy time for President Basher Assad.

They say at least 25 children are among more than one-thousand dead, with government crackdowns that increase the toll almost daily.