Syria forces killed 11 in Friday protests: Activists

Syria forces killed 11 in Friday protests: Activists

Syrian security forces shot dead at least 11 persons on Thursday as they opened fire to disperse protesters urging countries to expel Syria’s ambassadors, activists said.

Meanwhile, state television reported that a bomb blast in the restive central city of Hama killed three members of the security forces and critically wounded an officer, while state news agency SANA said two died.

The latest bloodletting comes on the eve of a deadline by the Arab League for Syria to stop the lethal crackdown on protesters seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, or face sanctions.

Three people were killed in the Damascus countryside, while two were shot in the central protest city of Homs and another in the restive city of Hama, also in the centre of the country, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Five people, including a 14-year-old boy, were also shot dead in the southern town of Daraa, cradle of the uprising against Assad’s autocratic regime, said the Britain-based Observatory.

Around 30 people were shot and wounded in Homs, in the Damascus suburb of Harasta and in Maaret Numan in the northwestern province of Idlib, the Observatory and the opposition Local Coordination Committees (LCC) reported.

Activists reported massive deployments of security forces in several parts of the country and said they had surrounded mosques to prevent worshippers from spilling onto the streets after the weekly Muslim prayers to join protests.

They opened fire as several rallies got under way in defiance of the authorities, in Homs, Daraa and in several areas of the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, they said