President Bashar Assad’s regime faced a massive wave of unrest on Friday as Syria erupted in a wave of demonstrations across the country, Arab media reported.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in defiance of Assad’s regime following Friday prayers, Al Jazeera reported, with disturbances breaking out in suburbs of Damascus, and the cities of Homs, Latakia and the southern city of Deraa.
Protesters smashed a statue of late President Hafez Al Assad in a suburb in Hasaka, prompting the security forces to open fire, Al Arabiya TV reported.
The government cut off electricity and telecommunications in some areas in an attempt to suppress news of the events.
Human rights activists quoted by Al Jazeera said the army and security forces were patrolling and conducting searches in a bid to stamp out the protests.
Activists had called for more demonstrations on Friday, using the Facebook page The Syrian Revolution 2011.
Last Friday, Syrian security forces killed at least 32 protesters across the country, Al Arabiya reported.
More than 1,400 civilians and 350 members of the security forces have been killed since the start of the protests on March 15, Syrian human rights groups say.
