7 die in clashes with Syrian security forces

SYRIAN security forces shot dead seven people during clashes in two cities between President Bashar al-Assad’s loyalists and protesters demanding his removal, an activist said.

The violence followed rallies organised by authorities in several cities in support of Assad, whose 11-year rule has been challenged by a three-month popular uprising, prompting him to promise reforms last Monday, which were dismissed by protesters and world leaders as inadequate.

Activists said people were killed when army and security forces intervened on the side of Assad’s supporters in the city of Homs and the town of Mayadeen in the tribal Deir al-Zor province, 40km east of the provincial capital, near the border with Iraq’s Sunni heartland.