At least 30 people were killed and wounded as security forces opened fire on anti-government protest in Syria's third largest city of Homs overnight, Al Jazeera TV channel said Tuesday.

The attack was the latest in a number of upheavals and armed conflicts demanding the resignation of Syrian President Bashar Assad which have swept across the country echoing Egypt's Tahrir Square protests. The demonstration in Homs has indicated that the nationwide anti-Assad rebellion is continuing to gain momentum.

Last week, Assad again promised to lift an emergency law that has been in force since 1963. Moreover, a new government was formed in Syria on Thursday as the country's leadership attempts to ease pressure from protesters to make reforms.

Protests, however, appear to be intensifying. The situation in Homs is very tense and "people are complaining that many of the wounded are refusing to go to hospitals; they fear that security forces will pick them up from their hospital bed," an eyewitness told Al Jazeera.

MOSCOW, April 19 (RIA Novosti)