Syria ceasefire: Security forces 'fire at protesters'

Several people have been shot dead during protests in Syria, activists say, as the UN considers deploying monitors to oversee a peace plan.

Security forces fired into the air to disperse crowds in several locations. But in some, protesters were shot dead.

The demonstrations were seen as a major test of the ceasefire, in place since Thursday as part of UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's peace initiative.

Mr Annan wants the UN Security Council to approve plans to send observers.

A draft resolution, expected to be put to a vote in New York later on Friday, would authorise an advance team of up to 30 monitors.

It would also demand the Syrian government ensure "full and unimpeded freedom of movement throughout Syria" and guarantee the mission's ability to interview any individual "freely or in private".

Mr Annan's spokesman, Ahmed Fawzi, said monitors were "standing by to board planes and to get themselves on the ground as soon as possible".

In Syria, anti-government demonstrators poured out of mosques after Friday prayers in many areas, amid tight security precautions.

Activist Mousab Hamdee says he doesn't believe in a monitoring mission: "We don't want people to come and watch us dying. We want people to come and liberate Syria"

Activists said security forces fired into the air in many places to prevent or disperse protests. But in others, protesters were killed or injured by gunfire.

Two people were killed as demonstrators attempted to reach the main square in the central city of Hama, they added.

"We tried our best to reach Asi Square in order to show the world the truth about the regime - they are lying and will not allow us to have big, peaceful demonstrations," Mousab Hamadee, an activist in Hama, told the BBC.

"As we approached Asi Square, they started opening fire on us. Two of my colleagues were martyred," he added.

Two other people were shot dead after Friday prayers in the town of Nawa, in the southern province of Deraa, while a fifth died in the town of Salqin, in the north-western province of Idlib, activists said.

The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), an activist network, said shots had been fired in 31 locations, including the suburbs of Damascus and Aleppo, as well as the cities of Homs, Deraa, Idlib and Deir al-Zour.

Security forces had killed 11 people across the country, including three in Deraa and two each in Hama, Idlib and Aleppo, it added.

On Thursday the state news agency, Sana, said an army officer had been killed and 24 others injured when a bomb exploded next to a military bus in Aleppo, and that a Baath Party official had been shot dead in al-Mazarib, in Deraa province.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says it is likely to be some time before a final picture emerges of what happened.

But the impression so far is that the violence does not seem to have been as bad as many had feared, given the fact that opposition leaders were calling for a massive turnout, and troops were already being accused of shooting at demonstrators the day before, our correspondent says.

With troops, tanks and heavy weaponry still deployed in and around population centres, the truce remains extremely precarious, he adds.

Getting them back to barracks is one of Mr Annan's priorities, as is getting an advance party of observers onto the ground to monitor the ceasefire, which began at 0600 (0300 GMT) on Thursday.

Mr Fawzi said the former UN secretary general's six-point peace plan had so far been "relatively respected" by both the government and armed opposition, but that he was "aware that we don't have a perfect situation".

1. Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people

2. UN-supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians

3. All parties to ensure provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and implement a daily two-hour humanitarian pause

4. Authorities to intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons

5. Authorities to ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists

6. Authorities to respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully

"There are detainees that need to be released, humanitarian corridors need to be opened."

In addition to a ceasefire, Mr Annan's initiative calls for the withdrawal of soldiers and heavy weapons from cities, the release of prisoners, delivery of humanitarian aid to those who need it and free movement for journalists.

The draft UN Security Council resolution calls on the Syrian government and opposition groups to comply with all aspects of Mr Annan's peace plan, including troop withdrawals and an end to "all armed violence in all its forms".

It also threatens unspecified "further measures" if the Syrian government "does not implement its commitments".

Mr Fawzi said the advance team of 10 to 12 observers would monitor the ceasefire and check the Syrian military was withdrawing from population centres in accordance with the peace plan. They could be followed by a larger mission of 250 observers.

The UN estimates that about 9,000 people have died since pro-democracy protests began in March 2011.

In February, the Syrian government put the death toll at 3,838 - 2,493 civilians and 1,345 security forces personnel.

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