19/03/2011 11:50
4 protesters killed as demonstrations spread across Syria
Four protesters were killed Friday and hundreds wounded by security forces in the southern city of Deraa, rights groups said, as demonstrations erupted across Syria in the first such show of discontent under Bashar al-Assad's rule.
"Security forces fired live bullets at the protesters. Four people were killed," said a human rights activist in Deraa contacted by AFP from Nicosia.
"Hundreds of protesters were wounded and many were snatched by the security force from the hospital where they had been taken and removed to an unknown location," he added.
Similar demonstrations were reported in the coastal town of Banias, in Homs, north of the capital, as well as in Damascus.