At least 19 civilians were killed on Friday in violence across Syria as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets after weekly Friday prayers, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based group said at least 11 people were killed in the central province of Homs, including eight in shelling and gunfire in various neighborhoods of the city itslef. Two were killed elsewhere in the province when security forces opened fire on demonstrators and one woman was killed by sniper fire. Two people were killed in Jabal al-Zawiyah, in northwest Idlib province and three were killed in central Hama province.
One demonstrator was also killed in Aleppo province and one man was killed in southern Daraa. In the capital Damascus, one man was killed in shooting overnight.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands demonstrated across Syria on Friday after the main weekly Muslim prayers, notably in northern Aleppo, with security forces opening fire on protesters in various regions, killing at least one, activists said. “There are 15 demonstrations taking place in the city of Aleppo and about 40 across the province,” said Mohamed Halabi, a local activist reached by telephone from Beirut.