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Reports: Syrian Forces Kill 5 at Protestersâ€™ Funeral

22 May 2011 03:32 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Activists in Syria say security forces killed at least five people Saturday when they opened fire on a crowd taking part in a funeral for anti-government protesters, APA reports quoting voanwes.com website.

News agencies quote activists who say the shooting occurred in the central city of Homs, where a number of people were also killed Friday in a crackdown on demonstrators rallying against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Activists say tens of thousands of people took part in Saturday’s funeral procession. They say the shooting began as people were leaving the Tal al-Nasr cemetery.

Meanwhile, Syria’s National Organization for Human Rights has put the death toll from Friday’s shootings at 44. In contrast, Syria’s state news agency said 17 people were killed Friday in Homs and Idlib and said the victims included police and troops. It blamed armed groups for the violence.

The accounts cannot be verified independently as Syria has banned foreign journalists from the country.

Syrian rights activists say more than 850 civilians have been killed since mid-March, when protesters began calling for democratic reforms and Mr. Assad’s ouster. Authorities have arrested at least 7,000 people as part of the crackdown.

On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama said President Assad must either lead a transition to democracy or â€œget out of the way.â€