Syrian government resigns

(CNN) — The Syrian government resigned Tuesday amid an unusual wave of unrest that has roiled the nation, state TV reported.

President Bashar al-Assad accepted the resignations Tuesday, the same day that tens of thousands of Syrians poured onto the streets of Damascus to demonstrate in favor of the government.

A new government should be named in a few hours, said Reem Haddad, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Information Ministry.

Meanwhile, the president plans to make “a very important speech” on Wednesday, she said. The speech will “reassure the Syrian people,” the state-run SANA news agency has reported.

The pro-government rally on Tuesday followed violent clashes between protesters and security forces in the cities of Daraa and Latakia in recent days. At least 37 people have been killed since last week, according to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Syria is the latest in a string of Arabic-speaking nations beset with discontent over economic and human rights issues. Syria’s discontent is centered Daraa, a southern city in the impoverished country’s agricultural region, where security forces and anti-government protesters have sporadically clashed for nearly two weeks.

Many demonstrators at the pro-government rally held posters of the president. Others waved Syrian flags, while some painted their faces and chests in national colors.

Crowds filled the square in front of the Central Bank and jammed all roads leading to it, aerial pictures on state TV showed.

There were also pro-government rallies in the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Hasaka, the broadcaster said.

CNN’s Yousuf Basil contributed to this report.