Two Syrian Demonstrators Killed in Assad Regime Crackdown

Syrian security forces killed two anti-regime demonstrators on Saturday morning and wounded another 15 in Damascus and in the northern province of Idlib, rights activists said.

In the capital's western quarter of Kafar Susseh, one demonstrator was killed and 10 hurt when club-wielding security forces attacked a group of people leaving prayers at the Rifai mosque, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Among the wounded was the imam of the mosque, Osama al-Rifai.

The Local Coordination Committees, which groups activists on the ground, confirmed the death, but said 12 people had been injured.

Demonstrations were also reported in the northern Damascus quarter Roukn Edinne and in Zabadani, 45 kilometers (28 miles) north of the capital, the Observatory said.

Separately, the Observatory said one person was killed and five wounded in Kafar Nabel, in Idlib.

On Friday, the last during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, security forces killed at least seven people as they fired on protesters rallying in their tens of thousands across Syria and vowing to bring down the regime.

An eighth man died in detention, his family told rights groups.

Spurred by calls posted on the Internet, protesters flooded the streets in the north, center and south of the country, chanting "Bashar, we don't love you, even if you turn night into day," according to activists.

The latest bloodletting came as the U.N. Security Council remained divided over measures against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, with Russia and China blocking bids to pass fresh sanctions, including a total arms embargo.

The ruler of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, meanwhile, upped the pressure on Syria during a visit to key Damascus ally Iran, saying the use of force was "fruitless."