Syrian forces kill 22 protesters,arrest opposition leader

Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters,killing at least twenty-two people

Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters Friday,killing at least twenty-two people as thousands joined demonstrations across the country calling for an end to President Bashar Assads regime,witnesses and activists said.

Syrian authorities also detained Riad Seif,a leading opposition figure and former lawmaker who has been an outspoken critic of the regime during the seven-week uprising,according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Fifteen people were killed in the central city of Homs and seven were killed in Hama,said a senior member of a human rights group that compiles death toll figures in Syria.

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We were chanting,peaceful,peaceful,and we didnt even throw a stone at the security forces, said a witness in Homs. But they waited for us to reach the main square and then they opened fire on us.

From Hama,footage on YouTube showed protesters frantically trying to resuscitate a man lying on the ground with a bloodied face and shirt,while people shouted God is great!

The protesters turned out Friday despite a bloody crackdown on the uprising. More than 565 civilians and 100 soldiers have been killed since the revolt began in March,according to rights groups.

Rallies were held in major areas including the capital,Damascus,and its suburbs,the central city of Homs,Banias on the coast and Qamishli in the northeast.

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The people want to topple the regime! protesters shouted,echoing the cries heard during the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.

Witnesses also reported some of the tightest security seen since the protests began in mid-March. In the Damascus suburb of Douma,scene of intense protests over recent weeks,security forces cordoned off the area to prevent anyone from entering or leaving.

An activist in Damascus said hundreds of people marched in the central neighbourhood of Midan. In Banias,witnesses said more than 5,000 people carrying olive branches and Syrian flags also were calling for regime change.

They were among several demonstrations and marches planned for Friday,the main day of protests in the Arab world,for what activists were calling a Day of Defiance.