At least 12 demonstrators and five soldiers were killed Friday when thousands of Syrians staged fresh protests against President Bashar al-Assad in several cities across Syria in what was dubbed the "Friday of Defiance", DPA reported.
Six protesters were shot dead by security in the central city of Homs and 17 were injured when protesters attempted to take over the main square, anti-government activists said.
Five were also killed in the northern coastal city of Lattakia, while another died in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour.
Syria's state television reported that one army officer and four soldiers were killed on Friday. It also showed footage from the different cities showing that life was "calm" in the country.
However, an eyewitness told the German Press Agency dpa by phone that thousands protested in the Midan district of Damascus.
"There are attacks, killings and arrests by security everywhere, but it is hard to confirm numbers since communications are down with most of the cities," the eyewitness said.
Demonstrators defied security agents who had attacked protesters in the al-Hassan mosque after Friday's weekly prayers to prevent them from joining the rallies.
Three tanks have been mobilized in Damascus and four protesters were admitted to hospital after attacks by security forces, with one confirmed as suffering from a bullet wound.
Riad Seif, a member of parliament and leading opposition activist, was reportedly arrested in the Midan district, activists said.
At least 3,000 protested in the north-western province of Idlib. Videos posted online showed protesters marching in front of the provincial headquarters of Idlib, which had a large poster of al- Assad on it.
Thousands more demonstrated in the coastal city of Banias, while a group of women took to the streets in Jableh, another coastal city.
Demonstrators were shouting slogans in support of the besieged southern city of Daraa, where residents said electricity was cut and phone lines and internet services severed.
European Union ambassadors on Friday agreed to issue a weapons embargo on Syria and sanctions against its leaders, but kept President al-Assad off the list, an EU source said. The measures still have to be approved by EU member states.
The sanctions - expected to include asset freezes and travel bans - will apply to 13 people who have been involved in the suppression of opposition protests.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Jordanians demonstrated near the border with Syria in support of pro-democracy protesters, witnesses said.
They shouted slogans voicing sympathy with people in Daraa and calling on al-Assad's government to halt its crackdown on protesters and to carry out political reform.
Human Rights Watch called on Syria's government to "immediately lift its 10-day siege of the southern town of Daraa and allow movement in and out of the city."
An eyewitness said Daraa has turned into a ghost town. He said the army did not pull out of the city, as announced by the government.
Protests in favour of greater freedoms and political reforms began in mid-March, with the opposition saying the death toll resulting from the regime's violent crackdown has topped 600.
Syrian human rights groups have issued a list of the names of more than 350 individuals who have died in Daraa alone.
Meanwhile, President al-Assad visited the Unknown Soldier Monument on Friday, Syria's Martyrs Day, the official SANA news agency reported.
SANA showed pictures of al-Assad standing in front of the monument and another of a group of young people surrounding him and handing him flowers.
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