previous news was posted at 17:36
Thousands of Syrians took to the streets on Friday in several Syrian cities, holding anti- government protests.
Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that anger protests erupted after Muslims Friday's prayers in cites of Damascus, Daraa and Banias, where thousands of marchers chanted slogans of freedom and democracy.
The protests come in the wake of the Syrian President Bashar al- Assad's address to the nation on Wednesday in which he accused " Syria's enemies" of flaming two weeks of turmoil in the country.
According to state statistics, about 50 Syrians have been killed so far in the unrest.