Topeka ? Opponents of the ruling regimes in Libya and Syria want to make Kansans aware of their grievances against those governments.

Protesters gathered Sunday on a sidewalk outside the Statehouse, waving flags and homemade posters. One poster featured the words “Please Leave” beneath a photo of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Libyan protester Mahmoud Bishr told KSNT-TV that Libyans need all the help they can get to oust the government of leader Moammar Gadhafi. Bishr described Gadhafi as “the most unusual, odd person in the whole universe.”

A Syrian protester denounced the government’s response in that country to peaceful demonstrations against Assad’s authoritarian regime and in favor of an elected president. More than 200 people have been killed as security forces tried to crush the protests.