Syrian forces open fire on protesters

At least five people reported killed in protests following Friday prayers in Homs and al-Kasweh, a Damascus suburb.

Security forces opened fire as thousands of anti-government protesters took to Syria's streets in a weekly ritual of defiance and demands for Syrian President Bashar Assad's ousting. Activists said at least five people were killed and some 15 injured in demonstrations following Friday prayers. Some of the fatalities occurred in al-Kasweh, a suburb of the capital, Damascus, and in the central city of Homs, according to Omar Idilbi of the Local Co-ordination Committees which track the Syrian protests. Protests in several other provinces also came under fire but it was not immediately clear whether there were casualties, Idilbi said. "Our revolution is strong! Assad has lost legitimacy!" protesters chanted in the Damascus suburb of Zabadani, according to video posted on YouTube. The military crackdown, which activists say has killed 1,400 people, has failed to silence a pro-democracy movement that has now lasted more than 100 days. In northern Syria, activists said at least 15,000 people held a protest on the highway linking the country's two main cities, Damascus and Aleppo. 'Strong security presence' Thousands marched in Amouda and Qamishli in the northeast and in other provinces, Mustafa Osso, a Syria-based human rights activist, said. Dissidents reported a strong security presence in many locations. In Homs, all roads leading to the city centre were reported blocked. The suburban Damascus protesters also carried a banner that read, "Oh germs and rats of the world, unite," taking up terms used by Assad, who likened some of Syria's troubles to a "germ" to be fought off, and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who described his country's protesters as rats. The video and other reports from inside Syria could not be independently verified, since the Damascus government has banned all but a few foreign journalists and restricted local media's reporting. The Syrian government blames foreign conspirators and thugs for the unrest, but protesters deny any foreign influence in their movement. The protests, which have occurred every Friday after weekly Muslim prayers, come as Syrian refugees stream across the border to safehavens in Turkey to escape a military sweep in Syria's northwest. More than 1,500 Syrian refugees crossed into neighboring Turkey on Thursday alone, boosting the number sheltered in Turkey to more than 11,700. New sanctions International condemnation on Damascus has been mounting steadily in recent weeks. The European Union on Friday extended sanctions against those supporting the government crackdown, including three members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, on Thursday warned Damascus to pull its troops back from the Turkish border, where concerns grew of possible confrontations with Turkish troops. Anticipating an exodus from Syria's second city, Aleppo, Turkish officials were setting up a sixth camp with up to 800 tents near a border crossing. On Thursday, Syrian soldiers patrolled in military vehicles and on foot around the border village of Khirbet al-Jouz, according to Associated Press journalists who watched their movements from the Turkish side. Turkish foreign minister Davutoglu told reporters on Friday he had conveyed Turkey's "concerns and thoughts" about the operation near Turkey's border in a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart on Thursday. He said he would continue to talk to Syrian officials to ensure that "reforms and peace are brought about as soon as possible". "We hope that Syria is successful in renewing itself in a stable manner and comes out of the situation stronger. We will do all that we can to help," he said.

Source: Agencies