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DAMASCUS: More than 400,000 Syrians gathered in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor Friday after weekly Muslim prayers in another day of nationwide protests against President Bashar al-Assad, a rights activist said.
“More than 400,000 people have gathered in Hurriat Square in Deir Ezzor and people are continuing to arrive,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Elsewhere, Abdel Karim Rihawi, head of the Syrian League for Human Rights, said “hundreds of demonstrators have begun to march in various Kurdish towns” in the northeastern province of Hasaka, including Amuda, Derbassiya and Ras al-Aim.
Hundreds more were marching in the southern town of Suweida, and demonstrations were also taking place in the northwestern province of Idlib, particularly in Tastanas and Kafar Nubol.
In Damascus, meanwhile, Rihawi said security forces were deployed heavily in the Qabun and Rukneddin quarters and had set up checkpoints at their entrances.
At the same time, telephone communications and electricity were cut in Daraya and Douma, just outide the capital.
This week's protests are dedicated to the central city of Homs, the latest focus of the crackdown on the protest movement, where government forces have killed at least 22 people since Monday, according to activists.
