DAMASCUS: Tens of thousands of Syrians poured into the streets for a "day of rage" after Friday prayers, defying warnings by President Bashar al-Assad's regime of a harsh crackdown on demonstrations.
By mid-afternoon, protests were taking place in most major centres around the country, witnesses said, in a repeat of pro-democracy rallies that have become the norm after weekly prayers.
In the anti-regime epicentre of Daraa, military officials said four soldiers were killed and two captured in what were the first of deaths that previous demonstrations suggest will likely multiply over the day.
Dissidents say security forces using live rounds and tear gas have killed more than 450 people since mid-March.
Friday's protests come as the UN Human Rights Council held a special session on Syria in Geneva and the European Union met in Brussels to consider a wide range of sanctions against Damascus.
The call for mass demonstrations was made on Facebook page the Syrian Revolution 2011, a motor of the protests in which demonstrators inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world are seeking greater freedoms.
Assad's regime reiterated its running ban on demonstrations, despite a decades-old law barring them being lifted earlier this month, as the Muslim Brotherhood accused the regime of genocide.
"To the youths of the revolution, tomorrow we will be in all the places, in all the streets... We will gather at the besieged towns, including with our brothers in Daraa," said a statement from Syrian Revolution 2011.
Information Minister Adnan Mahmud told AFP the crackdown would continue, saying the "authorities are determined to restore security, stability and peace to the citizens.
The interior ministry appealed to Syrians not to join the protests and warned they would not be tolerated.
"In the current circumstances, the interior ministry calls on brother citizens to contribute in an effective way to stability and security... by not staging demonstrations or sit-ins for any reason without official permission," said a statement reported by the state news agency SANA.
"The laws in force in Syria will be applied to preserve the security of citizens and the country's stability," the statement added.
Similar protests after prayers last week ended in chaos, with more than 100 people killed when security forces fired on demonstrators with tear gas and live rounds. Hundreds of people were detained.
In Banias, about 10,000 people turned out on Friday, shouting "liberty, solidarity with Daraa" and "down with the regime."
In Deir Ez-Zor, northeast of the capital, two demonstrators were beaten with batons and electrical cables after about 1,000 people emerged from a mosque and were dispersed by security forces, rights activist Nawwaf al-Bashir said.
In Ar-Raqqa, also northeast of Damascus, 300-400 people in the streets cried "All powerful God, cause the siege of Daraa to be lifted," activist Abdullah al-Khalil said.
Some 15,000 people turned out in the Kurdish city of Qamishli and neighbouring towns, shouting "national unity" and "with our soul and with our blood we will sacrifice ourselves for Daraa," activists said.
There were also demonstrations in Saqba and Midan, near the capital, and in the industrial city of Homs, where thousands of people could be seen shouting "down with the regime" on videos fed live to the Internet.
In Daraa, "an armed terrorist group attacked a military post at dawn," SANA quoted a military official as saying. "Four soldiers were killed and two were captured."
There have been reports of troops refusing to fire on protesters, and four soldiers "were killed defending residents," as tanks and snipers controlled Daraa for a fifth day, activist Abdullah Abazid said.
"Few people dare to venture away from home," he told AFP on the phone.
Water and power have been cut in Daraa and the death toll has risen to 42, as the situation worsened after 3,000-5,000 troops backed by tanks stormed the town on Monday.
Syria has been rocked since March 15 by increasingly strident pro-democracy demonstrations.
The Muslim Brotherhood said "every Syrian citizen knows that the regime is perpetrating genocide on Syrian territory, which is targeting the desire for emancipation expressed by the revolt of young patriots aspiring to liberty and dignity."
"God created you free; do not let the tyrants keep you in slavery," added the statement received by AFP. "Cry with one voice for liberty and dignity."
Meanwhile, a US draft resolution calls on the UN Human Rights Council to agree to "urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry... to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law" in Syria.
Campaigners said behind-the-scenes haggling was underway on the proposal after world powers clashed over Syria in the UN Security Council, with Russia and China maintaining their block on condemning the violence.
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