Protest in Syria

Syrian forces killed at least eight people when they opened fire to disperse protests against President Bashar al-Assad after Friday prayers (October 7) in Damascus and Homs, activists said, as Russia's president urged him to undertake reforms or step down.

The head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said three died in the Damascus suburb of Douma, one in Zabadani near the Lebanese border and four in Bab Sbaa, a district in the central city of Homs.

At least 25 people were wounded, he said, in the latest round in almost seven months of demonstrations seeking more political freedoms. Assad has held autocratic power for 11 years and his late father for three decades before that.

Video footage posted online in social media websites showed several people bleeding seriously as they are evacuated away from streets echoing with the sound of gunfire.

Reuters cannot independently verify content uploaded to social media websites.

An activist told Al Jazeera television that protesters had burned the flags of Russia and China for blocking a European-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution urging Syria to end its six-month crackdown on protesters.

In the east of the country, four gunmen shot dead prominent Kurdish opposition figure Mishaal al-Tammo and wounded his son.

It was not clear who was behind the attack. Tammo, a charismatic figure who was released from jail earlier this year, was a critic of Assad who had also angered powerful Kurdish parties because of his criticism of Kurdish rivals.

There were reports that at least another two died at the Tammo's protest in Qamishli.

Reuters