Further deaths among Syrian protesters were reported today amid the first large demonstrations since a 10-day military assault against the city of Hama.
Syrian security police shot dead two protesters in Hama today as thousands took to the streets to demand the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad, residents and activists said.
The two youths were killed near al-Tawhid and al-Sahaba mosques in northern residential neighbourhoods away from the centre of the city. "The demonstrations are taking place in the local neighbourhoods, where there are fewer forces and shabbiha [militiamen loyal to Assad]," said one resident.
Hama was stormed by the army at the start of the month in an assault which killed more than 100 people, according to activists and rights groups.
Elsewhere, Syrian forces fired live ammunition at protesters coming out of a main mosque after prayers today in the besieged city of Deir al-Zor, witnesses said, as demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad resumed elsewhere in the country.
"Military intelligence directed their AK-47s at the mosque, hitting the main air-conditioning unit, which caught fire. The whole neighbourhood is echoing with the sound of bullets," said one witness. "Worshippers are running to take cover in alleyways," he said by phone.
Syrian forces are also reported to have killed at least 19 people in raids near the Lebanon border and in the country's Sunni tribal heartland, activists said.
The United States has called for other states to implement sanctions against Syria's energy sector as further deaths are reported in the crackdown on dissent against President Bashar al-Assad.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said sanctions against Syria's oil and gas industry were needed to put pressure on Dr Assad. She called on Europe and China, main foreign players in Syria's energy sector along with Russia, to do more in imposing sanctions on Syria.
Ms Clinton, in a CBS interview, also said an organised, united opposition was needed in Syria.
Syria's oil industry, with which the ruling family has close links, generates most of the state's hard currency from crude output of 380,000 barrels per day.
Asked why the United States had not called on Dr Assad to step down, Clinton said the United States had been "very clear" in its statements about Dr Assad's loss of legitimacy, and wanted other nations to add their voices.
On Wednesday Washington imposed sanctions on Syria's largest bank and on biggest mobile telephone company, controlled by Dr Assad's cousin Rami Makhlouf, and yesterday US ambassador to Damascus Robert Ford said more sanctions would follow if the Syrian authorities did not stop their use of violence.
Regional powers Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have all put pressure on the Syrian leader to stop the violence. President Barack Obama and Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan spoke yesterday and agreed Syrians' demands for a transition to democracy must be met, the White House said.
Dr Assad's forces have intensified assaults on towns and cities across the country since the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan to subdue mounting dissent against the ruling family, despite threats of new US sanctions and calls from Turkey, Syria's powerful northern neighbour, and Arab nations, to halt the attacks.
Nightly Ramadan prayers, which follow the breaking of the fast, have given more Syrians a focus for daily protest marches against 41 years of Assad family rule over the country of 20 million, activists said.
Reuters