At least 24 people have been killed in clashes with government forces in Syria as the nationwide 5-month-old riot heated up ahead of the upcoming traditional Friday prayers, Arab media reported.
Syrian soldiers opened fire on protesters in at least four flashpoint cities and deployed soldiers across the country on Friday.
According to the Syrian Revolution Coordinating Committee, 15 people were shot dead in the city of Al-Kasir, some 40 were injured. Armored vehicles have been deployed in the city, and it has been completely cut off from all kinds of communication.
Soldiers killed five more people in the city of Homs. Other victims were reported from the cities of Deir ez-Zor, Ad-Daria and Damascus.
On Wednesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad admitted that his security forces made some mistakes in the initial stage of the unrest, but pledged that "efforts are underway to prevent their recurrence."
Syria has banned most foreign media and restricted local coverage, making it impossible to get independent confirmation of the events on the ground. The government has justified its crackdown by saying it was dealing with terrorist gangs and criminals who were fomenting unrest. Rights groups say more than 2,000 people have died in the protests.
On August 3, the UN Security Council issued a statement condemning the violence in Syria after failing to adopt a tough resolution due to objections from some members, including Russia and China.
Pressure from international powers has mounted to end the crackdown, with condemnations from Egypt, Iraq and Russia, and the Turkish foreign minister handed Assad a stern message from Ankara as well.
