Syrian security forces open fire on rally

BEIRUT, April 19: Syrian security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition Tuesday at anti-government protesters who took over a main square in the country´s third-largest city, witnesses and activists said.



An eyewitness said police used loudspeakers to call on protesters camped out at Clock Square in the center of the city of Homs to evacuate the area. Shortly afterward, security forces moved in, firing first tear gas, then live ammunition at the protesters who had brought mattresses, food and water to the site in an Egypt-style sit-in, vowing to stay until President Bashar Assad is ousted.[break]



"They shot at everything, there was smoke everywhere," an activist in Homs said by telephone. "I saw people on the ground, some shot in their feet, some in the stomach."



Other protesters confirmed his account, and said the exact number of casualties was not clear. All of the activists spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.



At least 200 people have been killed in the past month in Syria as security forces have launched a deadly crackdown on a growing protest movement, human rights groups say.



The protesters have also become bolder. More than 5,000 anti-government demonstrators took over the square in Homs on Monday, vowing to stay until Assad´s ouster.



The government, however, has blamed the weeks of anti-government unrest in the country on ultraconservative Muslims seeking to establish a fundamentalist state and terrorize the people.



The Egypt-style standoff in Homs followed funeral processions by more than 10,000 mourners for some of those killed in clashes Sunday that a rights group said left at least 12 people dead.



Many Syrians also say pro-government thugs — known as Shabiha — have terrorized neighborhoods with tactics such as opening fire into the air.



The government has in the past blamed "armed gangs" seeking to stir up unrest for many of the killings, such as the ones who fatally shot seven people, including three army officers, on Sunday in Homs.



On Monday, the Interior Ministry identified the gangs as "armed Salafi groups," referring to an ultraconservative form of Islam that has its roots in Saudi Arabia and can be found all over the region.



The statement carried by the state news agency said they were seeking to establish "emirates" and were "abusing the freedoms and reforms launched in the comprehensive program with a timetable by President Bashar Assad."

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