Syria forces ‘in new crackdown’

30 August 2011 Last updated at 03:22 ET

Anti-government demonstrations are reported to be breaking out across Syria after morning prayers on the day of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Thousands took to the streets, including in suburbs of the capital, Damascus, demanding the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Activists say Syrian security forces opened fire in several areas, killing at least seven people, mainly in the south, near Deraa. One was also killed in Homs, they say.

More were wounded there and where.

Syrian state television showed President Assad attending prayers in a Damascus mosque and taking coffee and cakes with fellow worshippers before being whisked away, says the BBC’s Jim Muir in neighbouring Beirut.

But where, even in some nearby suburbs of the capital, thousands of people were spilling into the streets demanding the downfall of his regime.

Communications were cut in many parts of the country, and security forces moved into the streets around the mosques.

Much of the focus was also on cemeteries, where it is customary to visit the graves of relatives on the Eid, our correspondent says.

At one, in the Qaboun suburb of Damascus, a crowd was surrounded by security forces who opened fire, according to activists, causing casualties.

They are also reported to have shot at demonstrators in Deir al-Zour in the east, and where, as demonstrations were reported from virtually all corners of the country.

The UN says more than 2,200 people have been killed since protests against Syria’s president began in March.

Most foreign journalists have been barred from Syria, making it difficult to verify reports from local activists and officials.

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