NICOSIA: A Syrian civilian was killed by sniper fire on Friday in the flashpoint city of Homs, which has been the focus of military operations for weeks, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"A civilian standing on his balcony in the neighborhood of Bab Sebaa in Homs was killed by sniper fire at dawn," said the Britain-based watchdog in a statement.
In Idlib province, near the border with Turkey, military and security forces launched raids in the town of Kafruma, arresting 13 people, including one woman and her 12-year-old son, the same source said.
In Maaret Al-Numan, also in Idlib, the funeral of a defecting soldier shot on Thursday by security forces stationed at a checkpoint turned into a rally demanding the fall of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.
Thousands of people were expected to stage protests later after the Friday midday prayers to call on the international community to impose a no-fly zone over Syria, similar to the one that helped bring down Moammar Qaddafi in Libya.
Friday prayers have become a lightning rod for weekly demonstrations, with protesters adopting each time a new rallying call along the central demand for the fall of the regime.
Pro-democracy activists this week called for rallies on Friday to impose "a no-fly zone" over Syria in order to protect civilians from military action and to encourage soldiers to defect.
"We call on the international community to impose a no-fly zone so that the Syrian Free Army can function with greater freedom," said the Syrian Revolution 2011 on its Facebook page.
A defecting army officer who has taken refuge in Turkey, Colonel Riad Al-Asaad, claimed in July to have established an opposition armed force called the "Syrian Free Army", but its strength and numbers are unknown.
On Thursday, China’s special envoy for the Middle East Wu Sike reaffirmed his country’s opposition to foreign interference in Syria, Syria’s official news agency said.
Wu, after holding talks in Damascus with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, called for an "end to all acts of violence … and to carry out reforms on the basis of dialogue and peaceful means."
Permanent UN Security council members Russia and China on October 4 vetoed a Western-proposed resolution threatening the Syrian leadership with "targeted measures" unless it halted the bloody repression.
