4 dead in clashes as Syria burials draw 100,000

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]



DAMASCUS: Security forces on Saturday killed three demonstrators in northwestern Syria, after more than 100,000 mourners turned out in Hama for the funerals of protesters, rights groups said.

In Jishrash Shughur, "security forces opened fire to scatter more than 1,000 demonstrators protesting after the funeral of a civilian killed on Friday" in protests at the nearby village of Has in the northwestern Idlib province, an activist said on condition of anonymity.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head Rami Abdel Rahman said more than 100,000 people attended the funerals of at least 53 people killed during anti-regime protests on Friday, all but five of them in Hama.

The London-based Observatory said security forces on Friday shot into a crowd of more than 50,000 people gathered for the central city of Hama's biggest rally since anti-regime protests erupted in mid-March.

In Homs, a city 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Hama, two people were killed on Friday and another two were killed in nearby Rastan, Abdel Rahman said. One person was also killed as security forces opened fire in Idlib.

Residents of Hama said security forces stayed away from the funerals. (AFP)