Five killed on Day 2 of Syrian truce

Four protesters were shot dead in Syria on Friday and an army officer was killed on the second day of a nationwide ceasefire meant to open a path to peaceful political dialogue after 13 months of extreme violence.

Syrians took to the streets across the country in small demonstrations after Friday prayers. But activists said security forces came out in strength to prevent anti-Assad rallies.  The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the anti-Assad Local Coordination Committees said two people were killed  in the city of Hama.

Troops allegedly killed one person as worshippers left a mosque in Nawa. A third was killed in Salqeen and a fourth in Deraya.

However, state news agency SANA blamed two of the deaths on the opposition, saying an “armed terrorist group” shot dead the man in Salqeen and attributing the death of the Hama protester to a shot fired by a fellow demonstrator.