Syrian forces kill 7 on Id day

Anti-government protesters come under attack after prayers

The Local Coordination Committees said in a statement that “seven people were killed on the first day of Id ul-Fitr in Syria, including four in the town of Al-Harra and two in Inkhil, in the Daraa province, and one in the (central) city of Homs.”

Pro-democracy protests that have rattled the autocratic regime of President Bashar al-Assad first erupted in mid-March in the southern province of Daraa.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights meanwhile reported that “three people were killed and nine wounded when security forces opened fire to disperse a huge demonstration in Al-Harra after the (first) Eid al-Fitr prayers” that mark the end of the holy fasting Muslim month of Ramzan.

The committees said protesters rallied against the regime after the early morning prayers, that are traditionally held on the first day of Id al-Fitr, with protests reported in Nawa, Dael and other districts of Daraa.

It said a “huge” protest was formed as worshippers emerged from the Al-Omari mosque in Daraa and marched to the town’s cemetery. Muslims traditionally visit their dead on the first day of the feast.

In the Daraa village of Dael, “children covered in shrouds, instead of (new) Id clothes, led a protest of some 10,000 people who emerged from the local mosque,” the committees said in their statement.

The committees also reported massive security deployments in the central flashpoint province of Homs, and that gunfire was heard in the vicinity of the citadel of the city of Homs, where communications were largely cut.

On the last day of Ramzan on Monday, 17 people were killed by Syrian forces.