Syrian security forces have again killed at least 34 protesters during a rally when activists tried to draw the country's Kurdish minority in the movement for political change.

This violent response against the protesters by the Syrian government defies U.S. President Barack Obama’s request on Thursday to President Bashar al-Assad either to step down or to facilitate a political change in the country.

The Syrian government must stop shooting demonstrators and allow peaceful protests, Obama had said in his speech about the Arab unrest on Thursday.

Security forces fired on protesters, burned down homes and shops of suspected protesters and put people into detention centers, activists said.

The rally saw thousands of protesters on the streets of Kurdish towns which are along the northern border.

The demonstrators in other parts of the country came under heavy gunfire, but the Syrian forces were restrained with the Kurdish protesters. Assad wanted to avoid the Kurdish involvement in the general uprising against the government.

Syrian forces raided the offices after the demonstration was over and arrested 13 people from the Assyrian Democratic Organization for participating in the protests and destroying government records and computers.

Syria's Kurds, have migrated from their villages in the northern cities like Damascus and Aleppo. Activists hope that the Kurds can also play a role in drawing protesters on to the streets, since they make up for about a tenth of the population among a total of 22 million.

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