DAMASCUS: Syrian security forces opened fire Friday killing at least 10 people as thousands of anti-regime protesters rallied in flashpoint cities after the Ramadan weekly prayers, rights activists said.
Friday's hail of lead came in defiance of warnings by the United States that Syria will face further sanctions if it does not stop killing protesters.
A man was shot dead in a dawn assault on the Damascus suburb of Saqba while a woman died when troops opened fire in the town of Kahn Sheikhun in northwestern Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
As thousands poured out of mosques after the noon prayers in the central city of Hama, security forces sprayed them with gunfire, killing a civilian and wounding three others, the Britain-based Observatory said.
“Thousands of people marched in Hama despite a higher presence of security forces. We left from the mosque to the Al-Manakh Square and they shot at us.
People were wounded and several others were arrested,” an activist told AFP.
Hama has been the scene of some of the bloodiest clashes since an uprising began mid-March against the authoritarian rule of President Bashar al-Assad. At least 100 people died when troops backed by tanks stormed the city on July 31, the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
State television streamed images showing Assi Square, nerve centre of protests in Hama, as completely empty, saying: “Life is back to normal in Assi Square, there are no armed forces.”
Another man died in sniper fire Friday near a mosque in Homs, another central city which has witnessed relentless blood letting in past weeks.
And a man was killed in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, an activist at the scene told AFP.
Security forces also shot to disperse demonstrators in two neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Damascus, Harasta and Douma, where they killed five people, an activist at the scene said.
Meanwhile, state television said “two security agents were shot dead by armed men in Douma.” Security forces encircled the Damascus neighbourhood of Qabun in a bid to prevent demonstrations there, the Observatory said.
Protests were also staged in the coastal city of Lattakia while in the Mediterranean city of Banias troops circled mosques in a bid to prevent protests taking place, the Observatory said.
The protests are in response to a call by Facebook group The Syrian Revolution 2011, a driving force behind the anti-regime protests, for mass “no-kneeling” demonstrations after weekly prayers.
“We only kneel before God,” the group said, also urging Syrians to continued rallying throughout Ramadan, which started August 1, saying “every day in Ramadan is a Friday.”
The group posted a video a protest in Midan, Damascus, where demonstrators carried signs that read: “Bashar's reforms: 3,000 dead, including women and children, 20,000 arrested, thousands displaced or missing.”
The Observatory said a total of 2,150 people have been confirmed dead since the protests began, including 1,744 civilians and 406 members of the security forces.