NICOSIA (AFP) – Syrian security forces on Friday shot dead two civilians in separate incidents near the central city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

“One demonstrator was killed when security forces opened fire on a march in Talbisseh, while another was shot dead and three more were wounded when they gathered after Friday prayers in the village of Al-Zaafarana,” the group said.

“The sound of heavy machinegun fire was heard in Talbisseh,” activists said.

In Zabadani, some 45 kilometres (28 miles) northwest of the capital Damascus, a passer-by shot as security forces chased demonstrators on Thursday died of his wounds, they said.

Elsewhere, the Observatory said nearly 2,000 people staged a demonstration in the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor, calling for the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and security forces were trying to disperse them.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva has said the death toll from the crackdown on dissent since March 15 had risen to more than 2,700.