Syrian forces fire on protesters at night in east, 1 hurt

A least one man was injured when Syrian security force fired to stop a demonstration against Baathist rule on Saturday night in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, Reuters reported.

I was hearing the bullets and the protesters chanting 'the people want the overthrow of the regime' at the same time, a witness, a resident of the city, told Reuters by telephone.

Since the street demonstrations have grown in numbers, security has also been intensified in recent weeks. Hence, to avoid heavy security, demonstrations were held at night in Deir al-Zor and other cities and towns.

Protesting against the arrests on Friday, a rally took place at night on Saturday in the town of Binish in the northwestern province of Idlib, said human rights campaigners.

According to witnesses and activists, troops encircled the town of Hirak, in the southern plain of Hauran. Hirak had been safe so far from the kind of military assault that had caused hundreds of deaths in the region's towns and cities in the past few weeks.

During protests on Friday, security forces killed at least 12 demonstrators in 91 locations across Syria, said the Syrian National Organisation for Human Rights.