Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad has removed the governor of the city of Hama from office after large scale anti-government protests on 1 July.

Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz was sacked after Assad signed a decree after tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Hama.

The protest was hailed by human rights groups as the largest of its kind since the civil unrest began in Syria on 15 March.

The London-based BBC reported that one resident said that the crowds were chanting ‘leave, leave, the people want the fall of the regime’.

It is alleged that more than 1,350 civilians and 350 members of the security forces have been killed in the protests since 15 March.