Syrian forces killed at least two protesters when they fired live ammunition to disperse pro-democracy protests that broke out across the country after Friday prayers in intensified assaults to crush the six-month uprising, activists said.

Citing reports from the street, they said the killings occurred in the province of Homs, scene of some of the largest protests against President Bashar al-Assad and where troops and tanks are deployed in the provincial capital and in the countryside.

Protesters also came under fire in the tribal region of Deir al-Zor on the border with Iraq, the city of Hama, and in several Damascus suburbs, they said.

Reuters