Syrian security forces shoot protesters
Scores reported dead in bloodiest day of uprising so far as "Great Friday" demonstrations rock towns across country.
As many as 70 people are reported to have been killed in Syria in the bloodiest day since the uprising began, as security forces use live ammunition and tear gas to quell anti-government protests across the country.
Activists sent a list naming 70 people from across the country who they said had been killed by security forces during the "Great Friday" protests. Al Jazeera has been unable to independently verify the exact number of fatalities. Fifteen of the deaths took place in Izraa, near the flashpoint southern town of Daraa, according to the list. Deaths were reported in Douma and Zamalka, near Damascus.
Other places where protesters were killed include Homs, Syria's third largest city, Moadamia and Daraa. Demonstrators marching in peace were surprised by security forces' live ammunition, according to Hazem, a protester who spoke to Al Jazeera via phone from a Damascus suburb. "Demonstrators were going with olive branches, it was peaceful" until they were "surprised by live ammunition from some security forces in one of the flats of the street", Hazem said. The protesters took to the streets to mark what activists dubbed "Great Friday" - the biggest demonstrations against Bashar al-Assad's government to date.
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