Beirut: Activists say Syrian security forces have opened fire at thousands rallying in the country's central regions calling for the downfall of President Bashar Al Assad's regime.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least seven people were wounded on Friday in the city of Homs. It says there are also casualties in the city of Hama.
The Observatory says the protests spread from the capital Damascus to the southern province of Daraa, the northwestern province of Idlib as well as the central regions of Hama and Homs.
Homs has been witnessing intense fighting between troops and army defectors in the past days.
The UN says some 2,700 people have already died in the government crackdown against the uprising the began in mid-March.
Syrians protest against President Al Assad
Earlier, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Syria on Friday demanding the removal of President Bashar Al Assad as fighting continued between loyalist forces and insurgents in the centre of the country, activists said.
Footage taken by residents showed crowds chanting "Syria wants freedom" in the Khalidiya neighbourhood of Homs.
Activists reported attacks on army roadblocks in the nearby town of Talbiseh and continued fighting between defectors and loyalist troops in the town of Rastan further north.
