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Syrian security forces fire on protesters - witnesses Syrian troops 'kill protesters after Friday prayers'
(about 1 hour later)
Syrian security forces have opened fire on protesters in the central city of Homs, killing at least three people, activists and witnesses said. Syrian security forces have shot dead at least nine people as mass protests have again swept across the country after Friday prayers, activists say.
Protests reportedly broke out in several towns and cities, including in Baniyas, Deraa and Qamishli, after Friday prayers. Witnesses said at least three people were killed when shots were fired into a protest in the central city of Homs.
It is the latest in a wave of revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. Fatalities are also being reported at protests in other parts of Syria.
At least 850 people have been killed in weeks of demonstrations in the country, human rights groups say. The rallies come a day after US President Barack Obama called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to lead a transition to democracy or "get out".
An eyewitness in Homs told BBC Arabic there was heavy gunfire in the Dier Baalba area, injuring several people. "The Syrian government must stop shooting demonstrators and allow peaceful protests," he said in a key policy speech about the Middle East and North Africa on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the coastal city of Baniyas witnessed one of its largest demonstrations yet, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. In response, the Syrian government accused Mr Obama of meddling "in the internal affairs of the region's countries, including Syria", and said his speech amounted to "incitement".
Demonstrations were also reported in the mostly Kurdish north-eastern town of Qamishli. At least 850 people have been killed in weeks of demonstrations against Mr Assad's regime, human rights groups say.
Rights organisations said protesters in Baniyas had bared their chests to show they were not armed. 'Gunfire and sticks'
Protests and army crackdowns have also been reported this week in the town of Tal Khalakh, near the Lebanese border, where activists say at least 27 people were killed. Protest organisers in Homs said security forces had fired live rounds at thousands of people who had gathered in the city. Reports on the number of dead varied from three to seven.
The coastal city of Baniyas - which was subject to a crackdown by soldiers and tanks earlier this month - witnessed one of its largest demonstrations yet, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Thousands of men, women and children took to the streets, with many of the men baring their chests to show they were not armed, the organisation told the AFP news agency.
One witness said security forces were trying to disperse the protesters using gunfire and sticks.
There are reports coming in of tear gas being fired on thousands of protesters in the city of Hama, north of Homs, and tanks storming the northern town of Maarat al-Numan.
The Local Co-ordination Committees in Syria, which have been helping organise the protests, put the number of dead in Homs at seven, and said one person had been killed in the Damascus suburb of Daraya and one in the southern village of al-Sanamain.
Reports from Syria are hard to verify independently, as foreign journalists are not allowed into the country.Reports from Syria are hard to verify independently, as foreign journalists are not allowed into the country.