Damascus, March 18: Syrian security forces intervened against a rally in Daraa, south of Damascus, today, the state news agency said as a human rights activist alleged four people were killed and hundreds wounded. Other demonstrations were reported in Damascus, Homs, north of the capital and the coastal town of Banias.
"The security forces fired live bullets at the protesters. Four people were killed," said the activist in Daraa contacted by AFP from Nicosia, identifying them as Akram al-Jawabra, Hussam Abdelwali Ayash, Ayham al-Harri and a member of the Abu Aoun family.
"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.
Plain-clothes Syrian police broke up a protest after Friday prayers at the main mosque in central Damascus, dragging away at least two activists, AFP reporters witnessed.
"There is no God but God," a crowd inside the men's section of the Omayyed Mosque chanted in crescendo after Friday prayers at noon.
Dozens of security agents who had gathered outside the mosque during the prayers, pulled out batons as soon as the chants broke out and detained at least two people, beating one one who resisted and kicking him in the nose.
At least 200 people immediately rallied in a square outside the mosque, chanting support for President Bashar al-Assad and waving Syrian flags. Some carried portraits of his late father and predecessor Hafez al-Assad.
Terrified families could be seen fleeing the square, with many children in tears.
It was unclear what sparked the chaos, but a Facebook group The Syrian Revolution 2011 had called for demonstrations after Friday prayers during a "Day of Dignity."
A video posted on the group's Facebook page showed a crowd of men inside the mosque chanting "there is no God but God," while a few calls of "freedom" could be heard before being drowned out.
Another video showed one man being dragged out of the mosque by other men who had attended the prayers.
The Facebook group also posted a video of a rally outside a landmark mosque in the city of Homs, 150 kilometres (about 100 miles) north of Damascus, where dozens of protesters marched, chanting "God, Syria, freedom."
Another video showed hundreds of protesters, mainly men, chanting in a city the Facebook group identified as Daraa, some 100 kilometres south of the capital.
The page said clashes had occurred between protesters and security forces in Daraa while video footage showed fire trucks turning their hoses on a procession to disperse demonstrators.
Two other videos, allegedly from the coastal city of Banias, showed crowds, one with at least 100 people, chanting for freedom.
Syria's state news agency SANA said violence and "acts of sabotage" had broken out in Daraa, prompting security forces to intervene.
"Infiltrators took advantage of a gathering of citizens near the Omari Mosque in Daraa... to provoke chaos through acts of violence which resulted in damage to private and public property," SANA said.
"The infiltrators also set cars and shops on fire, which obliged security forces to intervene in order to protect citizens and property," it added. "They were also attacked by the infiltrators before the latter dispersed."
SANA said another "gathering" had taken place in Banias, with no clashes.
AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.
Small impromptu protests have erupted for three days in a row in the Old City of Damascus, demanding political reforms in the country amid a wave of popular protests across the Middle East.
Syrian authorities on Thursday charged 32 activists with attacking the reputation of the state, a day after a rally outside the interior ministry, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The protesters, including high-profile rights activist Suhair Atassi, were detained at Wednesday's rally organised by the relatives of political prisoners to petition for their release.
Human Rights Watch has called for the release of all detained demonstrators, and independently confirmed that 18 people had been taken into custody.
Participants in Wednesday's rally said 34 activists had been detained by authorities in Syria, which is still under a 1963 emergency law that bans demonstrations. AFP
