Syria protesters sheltering in mosque shot dead by police

Syrian police launched a relentless assault on anti-government protesters sheltering in a mosque, shooting dead at least 15.

At least six were killed in the attack on the al-Omari mosque in the southern city of Daraa, where protesters have taken to the streets demanding reforms and political freedoms.

An activist said police shot another three people protesting in the Roman city centre after dusk. Six more bodies were found later in the day. He added that dozens of people were now holding a sit-in in the al-Mahata area.

Inspired by the wave of pro-democracy protests in the Arab world, the uprising in Daraa and at least four nearby villages has become the biggest domestic challenge since the Seventies to the Syrian government, one of the most repressive in the Middle East. Security forces have responded with water cannon, tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. The death toll now stands at 22.

Heavy shooting rattled Daraa throughout the day, and an Associated Press reporter heard bursts of semi-automatic gunfire in the early afternoon.
Mobile phone connections to Daraa were cut and checkpoints were manned by soldiers in camouflage uniforms and plainclothes security agents with rifles. Anti-terrorism police in dark blue uniforms were also on the streets.

People from the nearby villages of Inkhil, Jasim, Khirbet Ghazaleh and al-Harrah tried to march on Daraa last night but security forces opened fire as they approached.

Activists used social networking sites to call for massive demonstrations across the country tomorrow, dubbed "Dignity Friday". The London-based Syrian Human Rights Committee reported on its website that Syrian authorities shot dead soldier Khaled al-Masri for refusing orders to take part in storming the mosque.

Daraa is a province of about 300,000 people near the Jordanian border that has suffered from years of drought. It has been generally supportive of President Bashar Assad's Ba'ath party, said Murhaf Jouejati, a Syria expert at George Washington University.

He said the fact that the "conservative, devoutly Muslim" population has been protesting "means that the Ba'ath party is in trouble".