Protesters killed in Syrian shooting
At least three deaths reported in coastal city of Jableh as funerals are held for victims of government crackdown.
At least three people have been killed in Jableh, a coastal city in Syria, after security forces opened fire on protesters, witnesses tell Al Jazeera.
Speaking to Al Jazeera by phone on Sunday, they said some of the security men were in uniform, others in plain clothes. There were reports of clashes going on elsewhere in Syria.
The violence came after international human-rights groups called for an impartial investigation into the shooting of protesters in the country, with more than 130 people reported killed as of Saturday since the unrest began five weeks ago.
Security forces have even targeted mourners participating in funeral rites for the deceased but Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has blamed a “foreign conspiracy” for the unrest.
Protesters are demanding political reform and for an end to Assad’s 11-year rule. The deaths come despite the lifting of decades-old emergency laws last week and human rights activists insist the state of emergency was only lifted on paper.