Spy Free Cell Phone Software: Fresh protests erupt across Syria

File photo of protesters in Damascus, 10 June 2011

Syrians have been regularly turning out to protest after Friday prayers

Fresh demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's regime have erupted across Syria, with reports of at least eight people killed by security forces.

Activists and witnesses said security forces had opened fire in Homs, Damascus, and Deir al-Zour in the east.

Official media played down the size of the protests, but said a number of policemen had been shot and wounded.

Earlier, the Syrian army moved into two northern towns as it seeks to end months of anti-government protests.

Tanks, armoured personnel carriers and buses were used to secure Maarat al-Numan and Khan Sheikhoun, both on the road linking Damascus and Aleppo.

The UN says that at least 1,100 people have died as the government has cracked down on demonstrations that began in March.

Syrian rights groups put the overall death toll in Syria at 1,297 civilians and 340 security force members.

Syria has prevented foreign journalists, including those from the BBC, from entering the country, making it difficult to independently verify reports from there.

But activists and witnesses said security forces had opened fire on demonstrators in several locations.

Witnesses told the BBC that there was a huge demonstration around the al-Nour mosque in Homs.

One resident of Homs said: "My friend has just called me from Khaldea to tell me that one of the protesters there has been killed. I know that another 15 people have been injured too.

"They are even arresting the wounded and taking them to the military hospital," he said.

Activists said there had also been deaths in Damascus, the eastern provincial capital of Deir al-Zour, and the province of Deraa in the south.

In Deir al-Zour, witnesses and residents told Reuters news agency that two protesters were shot dead as they tried to rip down posters of the president.

Witnesses told the BBC that there had been protests in several districts of Damascus. Protesters have placed tyres and stones as roadblocks near the Abu Bakr mosque in the al-Qaboun neighbourhood, they said.

Activists dedicated Friday's protests to Saleh al-Ali, who fought against French colonial rule in the early 20th Century.

State TV reported on Friday that one policeman had been killed and 20 wounded during an attack by "armed groups" in Deir al-Zour.

President Assad is facing the gravest threat to his family's 40-year ruling dynasty, as unrest that first erupted in the south of the country has now engulfed the north - near the border with Turkey - and is threatening to spread eastwards towards its border with Iraq.

State television has shown pictures of troops moving into Maarat al-Numan, which is some 40km (25 miles) south-east of Jisr al-Shughour, the town overrun by tanks and troops on Sunday.

It said the army had also moved into Khan Sheikhoun, just south of Maarat al-Numan, to prevent what it called "armed terrorist organisations" from cutting off the highway.

Officials said they were planning a "limited military operation" in Maarat al-Numan to restore security there.

One resident told BBC Arabic the town was very tense and dominated by a "sense of fear".

At least 9,000 Syrian refugees have now fled across the border into Turkey, and Ankara says it will supply humanitarian aid to some 10,000 people who are stranded on the Syrian side of the border.

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