Hundreds of thousands protest in Syria

BEIRUT -- In the largest protests Syria has seen in months, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets Friday in a display of defiance to show an Arab League observer mission the strength of the opposition movement.

Despite the monitors' presence in the country, activists said Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad killed at least 22 people, most of them shot during the anti-government demonstrations.

In a further attempt to appeal to the monitors, dissident troops who have broken away from the Syrian army said they have halted attacks on regime forces to reinforce the activists' contention that the uprising is a peaceful movement.

While opposition activists are deeply skeptical of the observer mission, the outpouring of demonstrators across Syria underscores their wish to make their case to the foreign monitors and take advantage of the small measure of safety they feel they brought with them.

The nearly 100 Arab League monitors are the first that Syria has allowed into the country during the uprising, which began in March. They are supposed to ensure the regime complies with terms of the league's plan to end Assad's crackdown on dissent.

The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have died as the government has sought to crush the revolt.

Friday's crowds were largest in Idlib and Hama provinces, with about 250,000 people turning out in each area, according to an activist and eyewitness who asked not to be named.

Other big rallies were held in Homs and Daraa provinces and the Damascus suburb of Douma, according to Rami Abdul-Raham, who heads the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The crowd estimates could not be independently confirmed because Syria tightly restricts the media.

The observers have fanned out in small groups across Syrian provinces and have been seen taking pictures of the destruction, visiting families of victims of the crackdown, and taking notes.

On Friday they were within "hearing distance" from where troops opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters in the Damascus suburb of Douma, activist Salim al-Omar said. They later visited the wounded.

Activists said security forces fired on protesters Friday in Daraa, Hama, Idlib and Douma. In the central city of Homs, six people who were reported missing a day earlier were confirmed dead.

The Observatory reported 22 people were killed nationwide, most of them shot while protesting. The Local Coordination Committees activist network reported 32 were killed. The differing death tolls could not be immediately reconciled.