25 Civilians Dead as Dozens of Syria Deserters Killed Fleeing

Dozens of Syrian army deserters were killed by machinegun fire as they tried to flee their military posts in northwestern Idlib province on Monday, as security forces shot dead 25 civilians across the country, rights groups said.

In a statement sent to Agence France Presse, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said between 60 and 70 deserters were gunned down as they abandoned their positions in the Idlib towns of Kansafra and Kafr Awid.

The LCC, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said regime forces shot dead six people in the Damascus province, six in Idlib, five in Daraa, four in Homs, three in Deir al-Zour and another civilian in Hama.

Meanwhile, the Observatory said three civilians were killed and dozens wounded when security forces peppered the town of al-Quriyeh near Deir al-Zour with fire from heavy machineguns.

The civilians died during clashes between soldiers and military mutineers, the Britain-based group said, adding: "The deserters were able to take a vehicle belonging to the military."

Army deserters also killed three loyalist troops in Idlib province, the group said in a statement sent to AFP.

In the southern province of Daraa, where the uprising against the regime erupted in mid-March, a young man was killed in a village west of Daraa city by gunfire from security forces, the Observatory said.

It added that two more civilians were killed in Herak, eight were wounded -- some critically -- and dozens of people were arrested when security forces swooped on the town on Monday morning.

The Observatory added that a general strike also continued "in most towns and villages" across Daraa for the ninth consecutive day.

It also said that "tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through (the central Damascus quarter) of Midan on Monday in protest at the death of a girl," Hala Munajed, who was shot dead on Sunday.

A child was wounded when security forces opened fire on the demonstrators in Midan, added the Observatory.

According to the LCC, the 13-year-old girl was hit in the back by a bullet when security forces opened fire on a rally staged by students.

Rights activists said that at least 15 civilians and six soldiers were killed across the country on Sunday as clashes raged between regular forces and deserters.