Anti-government demonstrations have spread across Syria with the highest turnout yet in a month of unrest, despite a heavy crackdown by security forces in Deraa in which at least 22 people were reported killed.
Residents in Deraa said troops opened fire on thousands of protesters, and ambulances were prevented from reaching the scene. A man who helped carry the dead and wounded to hospital said he had seen security forces shooting live ammunition. "My clothes are soaked with blood," he told the Associated Press, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.