Syrian security forces have killed 47 people when they stormed cities across the country looking for army defectors and seeking to prevent the breakout of mass protests following the weekly Friday prayers, the revolution commission said.
At least six people were killed in the flashpoint city of Hama when troops and security forces raided the town. “They raided Hilfaya at 6:30 a.m. (0330 GMT), with troops and security police descending from buses and trucks equipped with machine guns,” one of the activists told Reuters by telephone. “They stayed for two hours, firing at random to frighten the inhabitants. Among the six who were killed were two cousins from the al-Jammal family who were on their way to Hilfaya from the nearby village of Taybeh,” the activist said.