BEIRUT: At least four civilians were killed on Friday as Syrian forces shelled a rebel-held area of the city of Homs for the 21st straight day, while tens of thousands protested across the country, monitors said.
The bombing targeted the district of Baba Amr, where hundreds have reportedly been killed since forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad began an artillery attack on February 4, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Some 86 people, including 61 civilians, were killed Thursday across the country, adding to more than 7,600 people killed since protests erupted against Assad's regime in March 2011.
"Baba Amr is being brought down on the heads of its inhabitants," wrote one activist who posted online footage of the bombing. "O, Arabs and Muslims, why don't you react," he asked.
US war reporter Marie Colvin and French photojournalist Remi Ochlik were killed Wednesday in shelling that hit a makeshift media centre in Baba Amr.
Army defectors also clashed with regime forces in the city of Rastan, in the province of Homs, and destroyed two personnel carriers as troops attempted to storm the rebel-held city, the Observatory said.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands flooded streets across the country defying tight security and gunfire in some places, after activists called for demonstrations nationwide in support of Baba Amr.
"We will rise up for you Baba Amr," said a call for protests posted on the Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page.
"Tens of thousands of Syrians demonstrated today in several areas of Syria," Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Observatory, told AFP.
In the northern city of Aleppo, security forces opened fire to disperse a protest in the Sukari neighbourhood, and at another demonstration in the city of Tal Refat, in the province of Aleppo, the Observatory said.
Security forces also deployed at the university of Aleppo, scene to protests over the past days.
In the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, a civilian was seriously wounded as security forces opened fire at a demonstration at the Hweija roundabout, the Observatory said.
In the southern province of Daraa, security forces opened fire at a demonstration in the town of Adwan while military forces stormed the town of Al-Hara, the Observatory said. There were protests elsewhere in the province.
The Local Coordination Committees said that demonstrators emerged from mosques following the weekly Muslim prayers in the northern Damascus suburb of Douma chanting slogans of support for Baba Amr and calling for the overthrow of the regime.
Protests were also staged in the Mediterranean cities of Latakia, Jableh, and Banias, as well as in Hasakeh and Qamishli, in the northeast, the LCC reported.
Western and Arab powers meeting in Tunis on Friday are to push Syria to allow in desperately needed humanitarian aid.
More than 60 nations are gathering for the "Friends of Syria" conference, which will also seek to further isolate Assad's regime and support the country's opposition.
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