Four protesters killed as demos 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.

He identified the victims 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.

Similar demonstrations were reported in the coastal town of Banias, in Homs, north of the capital, as well as in Damascus,

Plain-clothes police broke up a protest after Friday prayers at the main mosque in central Damascus and dragged away at least two activists, AFP reporters witnessed.

A crowd inside the men's section of the historic Omayyed Mosque could be heard chanting "There is no God but God" in crescendo after the noon prayers.

Supporters of Assad

Dozens of security agents deployed outside the mosque pulled out batons as soon as the chants broke out and detained at least two people, beating one who resisted and kicking him in the nose.

At least 200 people immediately rallied in a square outside the mosque, shouting support for Assad, who rose to power in 2000, 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.

Facebook group The Syrian Revolution 2011 had called for demonstrations after Friday prayers during a "Day of Dignity." The group had attracted more than 52,000 fans by Friday.

A video posted Friday on the page showed a crowd of men inside the Omayyed Mosque chanting "there is no God but God" in response to a few calls of "freedom" which were quickly 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 kilometers (about 100 miles) north of Damascus, where dozens of protesters marched, chanting "God, Syria, freedom."

Two other videos, allegedly from the coastal city of Banias, showed crowds, one with at least 100 people, chanting for freedom.

The page said clashes had occurred between protesters and security forces in Deraa, while video footage showed fire trucks turning their hoses on a procession to disperse demonstrators.

Protests in Deraa

More footage showed hundreds of protesters, mainly men, chanting in Deraa, some 100 kilometers south of the capital.

AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.

Syria's state news agency SANA confirmed violence and "acts of sabotage" had broken out in Deraa and said security forces intervened.

"Infiltrators took advantage of a gathering of citizens near the Omari Mosque in Deraa... 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.

Small impromptu protests have erupted for three days in a row in the Old City of Damascus, demanding the release of political prisoners and reforms in the country, amid a wave of popular uprisings 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 organized 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 arrested.

Participants in Wednesday's rally said 34 activists were detained by authorities in Syria, which is still under a 1963 emergency law that bans demonstrations.