Some 4 to 10 people lost their lives Friday in a suburb of Damascus, where security forces opened fire on demonstrators.
According to eyewitnesses quoted by the BBC, the army has used tear gas to disperse the crowd and several people were injured. Also, snipers dressed in civilian clothes had shot people from rooftops.
A massive security device was deployed on the streets of Damascus, especially around major mosques, and Umayyad, where anti-government protests first broke out. Hundreds of security officers and supporters of the president gathered around the place of worship and then mixed among people who were praying inside. Anti-government protests took place in several Syrian cities, and Homs, and Hassakeh Qamishli after Friday prayers, despite stringent security measures.
Gaddafi does not want peace with rebels
Libyan rebels submitted on Friday to leader Muammar Gaddafi forces a conditional offer of truce, which the government in Tripoli has declined, qualifying it as “crazy.” Head of the Transitional National Council, Abdul Jalil Ibrahim, talked about a possible truce after a meeting with UN special envoy to Benghazi, Abdelilah al-Khatib. “Our main demand is the withdrawal of Gaddafi and his sons from power”, said rebel leader.
Libyan government spokesman, Ibrahim Moussa, has condemned the coalition raids, which he termed as “crime against humanity”. He said that six civilians were killed in an “outrageous” air raid aimed at Zawia el Argobe village, 15 kilometers of Brega. NATO is investigating this information. Libyan rebels announced yesterday that an near Brega launched by the international coalition militants ended up by killing 10 anti-Gaddafi militants, reports Sky News.