At Least 28 Shot Dead as More Than 1 Million Flood Syria Streets

More than one million protesters flooded Syrian streets on Friday seeking an end to President Bashar al-Assad's regime as security forces opened fire and killed at least 28, among them 23 in Damascus and its suburbs, and wounded nearly 100, an activist said.

Rights activist Abdul Karim Rihawi said the deaths included two in al-Qadam and four in Douma, both suburbs of the capital, in addition to three in the northwestern city of Idlib and two more in the southern town of Daraa.

Neighborhoods in Damascus bore the brunt of the violence, with 12 killed in Qaboun, three in Rukneddine and another in Barzeh.

The capital's suburbs also saw the death of a child killed in Jobar.

More than one million Syrians turned out in just two cities -- Hama and Deir Ezzor -- to protest against Assad's regime and demand the release of hundreds of detainees seized in earlier pro-democracy rallies.

"More than a million people demonstrated today in Hama and Deir Ezzor," Rami Abdul Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "It's a major development and a message to the authorities that protests are getting bigger."

Friday's mobilization was the largest since protests erupted on March 15.

In the central city of Homs, 15 people were wounded when security forces fired on them, pro-democracy militants said, reporting on some of the mass demonstrations mounted after Friday prayers to demand the release of hundreds of people detained in earlier demonstrations.

Rihawi added that 15 protesters were wounded in Kiswah, in Damascus province.

Security agents used live ammunition to disperse protesters in the Qaboun and Barzeh areas of Damascus, while more demonstrators infiltrated the Madaya, Harasta and Saqba regions, Rihawi said.

The official SANA news agency said "armed men fired on security forces and citizens in the areas of Qaboun and Rukneddine in Damascus."

Militants added that more than 7,000 people headed towards the Al-Hassan Mosque in the Midan area of Damascus, a focal point of protest in the capital.

Syrians had been urged to demonstrate on Friday to demand the release of those people imprisoned in a bloody crackdown on democracy protests, four months after they erupted.

Syrian state television reported "the death of a civilian killed by armed men at Idlib."

It added: "The military and security services are protecting demonstrators against armed men in Daraa province."

Activists issued an appeal for protests to mark a day of "Freedom for the Hostages" on The Syrian Revolution 2011 page of Facebook, which has been a driving force behind the demonstrations.

The Facebook appeal called for nationwide demonstrations "for the freedom of prisoners, for the dignity of free men."

Like their cousins across the Arab world, Syrians have adopted Fridays, when they are allowed to gather for the main weekly Muslim prayers, as their main outlet for dissent.

In an interview published on Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford warned President Assad and his regime that "the street will wash them away" unless they adopt reforms at "the speed demanded by the street protesters."

Ford has become an irritation for Syrian authorities since last Friday when he attended a large demonstration in Hama, which has developed into an opposition stronghold.

A crowd of pro-regime supporters attacked the U.S. embassy in Damascus during demonstrations against the United States on Monday, triggering an angry response from Washington.

Since the protests began on March 15, violence has killed 1,419 civilians and 352 members of the security forces, while more than 1,300 people have been arrested, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syria blames what it calls "armed gangs" and Muslim extremists for the violence.

On Thursday, security forces killed four people and wounded 16 others when they fired on protesters in Homs and Deir Ezzor, rights groups said.

State television, meanwhile, said gunmen in the western flashpoint city of Hama, where about half a million people have protested on the past two Fridays, had kidnapped two members of the security forces and a student.

The West has been ratcheting up pressure for United Nations Security Council action against Damascus, with France slamming China and Russia's opposition to the move, calling it "indecent."

China and Russia -- the latter a longtime strategic ally of Syria -- maintain their opposition to any international interference in the country.