Click to play
Amateur footage of Syrian protests in Harasta, Deir al-Zour, Baniyas, al-Bukamal, Homs, and Busur-al-Harir
Most of the reported deaths were in the southern Deraa province.
Activists said people were also killed in the western city of
Homs, where shooting and explosions continued throughout the night.
On Thursday, the US led unprecedented calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
Russia rejected the US calls for President Assad to go, saying he should be given more time to enact reforms.
Syria's UN envoy Bashar Ja'afari accused the US of trying to instigate insurrection.
The Turks, also very influential in the current situation,
agree. They fear an abrupt change of regime could destabilise Syria and
the whole region. But they, the Russians and others, will be urging Mr
Assad to be serious and swift with his reforms, and they'll be trying to
encourage dialogue with the opposition.
He said the US and other UN Security Council members were "waging a humanitarian and diplomatic war" against Syria.
Meanwhile, the EU is preparing to expand its sanctions against Syria, targeting the oil sector.
"Proposals are now being prepared for an embargo on the
import of Syrian crude oil into the European Union," EU foreign affairs
chief Baroness Ashton said in a statement.
Five institutions and 15 individuals are to be added to the sanctions blacklist, which imposes travel bans and asset freezes.
There may also be further sanctions against the telecommunications and banking sectors, officials told Reuters.
Most of Syria's oil exports go to Europe.
'Beginnings of victory'
Rights activists said two people were killed in Homs, Syria's
third-largest city, while there were more deaths in the suburbs of
Damascus.
However, most of the deaths were in three towns in Deraa province, where the protests began in March.
Syrian state media gave a different account, saying gunmen
had opened fire on worshippers and security forces, killing at least two
policemen.
The conflicting accounts are difficult to verify because the Syrian government has banned foreign journalists from the country.
Click to play
Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari: "Illegitimate strategies against my own country"
The BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says according to activists, hostilities continued throughout the night in Homs.
Tanks were said to be converging on several areas, and
shooting and explosions could be heard along with military helicopters
hovering overhead.
Despite Mr Assad's promises to stop the security forces
firing on protesters, activist accounts and internet video postings
indicate nothing much has changed, says our correspondent.
President Assad has promised political reforms but has
continued to clamp down on the protesters, blaming the unrest on
"terrorist groups".
Human rights groups believe that
about 2,000 people have been killed and thousands arrested since March
as Syria's security forces - using tanks, helicopters, gunships and
snipers - try to quell dissent that has broken out in much of the
country.
The UN says it has been given permission to send a
humanitarian mission to Syria on Saturday, and has been guaranteed full
access, following a conversation between UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon and President Assad on Wednesday.
The US called for Mr Assad to step down on Thursday and
introduced harsh new sanctions, freezing all Syrian government assets
under US jurisdiction and prohibiting any US citizen from engaging in
transactions with Syria.
The US and European powers have already indicated they will
push for new sanctions at the UN, though these may meet resistance from
veto-holding permanent members Russia and China.
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