Security forces shot dead 16 protesters at several demonstrations across Syria today demanding the removal of President Bashar al-Assad, one of the main activists' groups coordinating protests said.
The deaths included the first protester to be killed in Syria's second city, the commercial hub of Aleppo, the Local Coordination Committees said in a statement.
The group said it had the names of the 16 civilians, among them three killed in Damascus suburbs and eight in Homs, a city of one million people where the presence of tanks and troops has not stopped people from holding big protests demanding political freedom and an end to Mr Assad's autocratic rule.
Syrian human rights campaigner Ammar Qurabi said Central Security personnel had shot dead one demonstrator in Aleppo when they fired at several hundred protesters in Saif al-Dawla, a major street in the city centre.
Protests in Aleppo, a mostly Sunni city with significant minorities and a rich merchant class with close links to the Alawite ruling hierarchy, had been largely confined to its university campus and outskirts.
State television said gunmen shot dead a member of the security forces in Homs. The authorities have consistently blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the deaths of civilians and security forces. Human rights campaigners have said scores of troops and police have been shot for refusing to fire at protesters.
Friday Muslim prayers have been a platform for the biggest protests leading to the most bloodshed, in the uprising inspired by Arab revolts which overthrew the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia and have challenged autocrats across the Middle East.
Residents said two northern towns remained encircled by army units, five days after the military retook the rebellious town of Jisr al-Shughour and sent thousands of refugees streaming across the nearby border into Turkey.
Syrian rights groups say 1,300 civilians and more than 300 soldiers and police have been killed since the protests broke out in March against 41 years of rule by the Assad family, and 10,000 people have been detained. Mr Assad has responded to the unrest with a mix of military repression and political gestures aimed at addressing protesters' grievances.
Yesterday, state media said his billionaire cousin Rami Makhlouf, a symbol of elite corruption and unaccountability for the protesters, was quitting business and handing proceeds to charity. Mr Makhlouf controls a string of businesses including Syria's largest mobile phone operator, duty free shops, an oil concession, airline company and hotel and construction concerns, and shares in at least one bank.
He has been subject to US sanctions since 2007 for what Washington calls public corruption, as well as EU sanctions imposed in May, but repeatedly maintained that he was a legitimate businessman whose firms employ thousands of Syrians.
Activists said Mr Makhlouf's step by itself would not curb the momentum of protests. They said Mr Assad, who has only spoken twice in public since the uprising started, was expected to address the country soon and might unveil further measures.
Mr Assad faces international condemnation over the violence, as well as the first signs of cracks in his security forces after a clash in Jisr al-Shughour earlier this month in which the government said 120 security personnel were killed.
There have been no mass desertions from the military, but analysts say it is unclear how long the loyalty of rank and file Sunni Muslim conscripts would last if the crackdown on mainly Sunni protesters by Alawite-commanded military forces continues. Mr Assad's family is Alawite.
United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said he had spoken to Mr Assad and urged him to halt the violence. "I again strongly urge President Assad to stop killing people and engage in inclusive dialogue and take bold measures before it's too late," Mr Ban told reporters in Brazil.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy said in Berlin today that France and Germany agreed to lobby for stronger sanctions against Syria, which already faces targeted USand European Union sanctions against its leadership.
"France, hand-in-hand with Germany, calls for tougher sanctions against Syrian authorities who are conducting intolerable and unacceptable actions and repression against the (Syrian) population," he said after talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel.
France has so far been unable to rally sufficient support at the Security Council for a resolution condemning Mr Assad's crackdown, in part because of reluctance from veto-holding council members China and Russia. A witness in the Damascus suburb of Irbin said protesters burned a Russian flag today in protest at Moscow's stance.
Syrian forces have surrounded two nearby towns on the main north-south road linking Damascus with the second city of Aleppo. Villagers have been streaming out of the towns, fearful of an assault similar to the one witessed in Jisr al-Shughour. The state news agency said army units deployed near Khan Sheikhoun and Maarat al-Numaan to ensure the route's safety.
Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu held talks with a Syrian envoy yesterday in which he called on Damascus to end the violent crackdown and pass democratic reforms.
Turkish officials said the number of refugees who had crossed over from Syria had reached 9,600, and another 10,000 were sheltering by the border just inside Syria.
Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie today travelled to Turkey’s border with Syria to meet refugees. Jolie, who is a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, arrived in the Turkish province of Hatay this afternoon. In April, she travelled to Tunisia during its refugee crisis as thousands fled from Libya.
Agencies