At least eight people were killed Friday as anti-government demonstrations were held across Syria to honour army personnel who have defected to join pro-democracy protests, according to opposition activists, dpa reported.
"Today is the Friday of the Free Army," wrote the Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook group, which is the key organizing force of the anti-government protests in Syria that began in mid-March.
"Initial reports said security forces had killed seven people, including a child, in the town of Dael in (the southern province of Daraa)," an activist based in Lebanon told dpa.
"One other protester was killed in the province of Homs," he added.
Footage aired on the broadcaster Al Jazeera showed a crowd allegedly in the central city of Hama chanting: "The people want to execute (President Bashar) al-Assad."
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 25 soldiers were among 36 people killed in violence in Syria on Thursday as the army faced fierce confrontations in the town of Binnish in north-western Syria with alleged deserters.
Earlier Friday, activists based in Lebanon told dpa that clashes between government security forces and armed men - believed to be army defectors - had left at least 20 dead since Thursday, in the central province of Homs and northern Idlib Province.
The government confirmed the fighting in Homs and Idlib and said 10 security officials had been killed and 19 others wounded in an ambush by "an armed terrorist group."
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said that an unspecified number of "armed men" were killed and others were arrested, during the pursuit of suspects.
Syrian authorities blame "gangs of armed terrorists" for the unrest that is gripping their country.
The United Nations Human Rights Council said Friday the death toll from the Syrian government's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters had exceeded 3,000 people, including 187 children.