AMMAN: Syrian forces fired on hundreds of demonstrators who had gathered in the city of Homs night in defiance of warnings by the authorities to end what they called an insurrection, a rights activist, has said Tuesday.
A member of the Security Police has reviewed the demonstrators Square clock by a loudspeaker asking them to leave, then the forces opened fire, said human rights activist, who is in contact with the demonstrators on the place.
Tear gas was also used. At least one protester was injured, said the activist. Two inhabitants of Homs also reported hearing the sound of gunfire coming from all over the place.
A few hours ago, Syrian state television broadcast a statement from the Ministry of the Interior described the wave of protest as an insurrection in Syria, stressing in particular in Homs as one of the two cities where "armed groups belonging to the Salafist organizations "have tried to terrorize the population.
Salafism is a strict form of Sunni Islam, which many Arab governments to assimilate militant groups like al Qaeda.
President Bashar al-Assad announced Saturday that he would end nearly a half century of the state of emergency legislation which should be in place next week, but his promise did little to allay demonstrators calling for political freedom.
rights activists say more than 200 people have been killed since the protests began.
The Syrian authorities have intensified restrictions on independent media since protests challenging the regime's authoritarian Assad broke a month ago.
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