Syrian forces kill two as funerals turn to protests

SYRIAN forces opened fire at funerals for slain political protesters, a human rights activist said yesterday, leaving two more people dead as Syria tries to subdue weeks of demonstrations against President Bashar Assad.

The two were killed on Saturday in al-Kaswa, a suburb of the Syrian capital, Damascus, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, the London-based director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Security forces opened fire when the funerals turned into protests, he said.

Syrian activists say 20 people were killed in Friday demonstrations across Syria, including two children aged 12 and 13.