Damascus: Syrian forces killed 14 people
on Friday, activists said as protesters piled pressure on the
regime to quit while the EU tightened the noose on Damascus by
slapping it with an oil embargo.
Activists reported "huge demonstrations" after weekly
Muslim prayers in response to calls from an Internet group
that urged rallies against President Bashar al-Assad`s regime
under the banner "death rather than humiliation".
France also announced plans to further isolate Assad,
saying it would boost contacts with the opposition, echoing
calls from Spain for international support for the opponents
of the embattled president.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said eight
people were killed when security forces intervened to disperse
protests in several suburbs of Damascus including Douma and
Erbeen.
Three other people died in rebellious Homs province
and three in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, said the
Britain-based Observatory which earlier reported that a
16-year-old girl was killed in Erbeen and a civilian in
Talbisseh, in the province of Homs.
Several people were also reportedly wounded, some in
critical condition, when security forces opened fire on the
protesters, activists said.
Syrian state television reported, meanwhile, that
security forces killed two armed men after coming under attack
in Talbisseh.
The official SANA news agency said three members of
the security forces were killed "by armed terrorist groups who
attacked them in Talbisseh, Erbeen and Hammuriyeh (also a
Damascus suburb)."
The agency also reported four assailants were killed
in the confrontations.
PTI
