BREAKING: Thousands Protesting

Although it cannot be confirmed yet, it is after Friday prayer now in Syria and many are stating an eruption of protests around the country. Cities with protests so far: Homs, Latakia, Idlib, Damascus suburbs, and Qamishli among others.

Follow #syria on twitter now to keep up with the live coverage.

Clinton Calls Syria Out

Reuters: Clinton says Syria must stop detention, torture

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday condemned violence in Syria and said the Syrian government must stop the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of prisoners.

"We are particularly concerned about the situation in Homs where multiple reports suggest violence and casualties among both civilians and government personnel," she said at a news conference. Independent confirmation was difficult because journalists were not being allowed access, she said.

Activists in the central city of Homs say more than 20 pro-democracy protesters have been shot dead since Monday by soldiers and other forces.

"The Syrian government must allow free movement and free access, it must stop the arbitrary arrest, detentions and torture of prisoners," Clinton said.

She called on the Syrian government to cease violence and respond to "the legitimate issues that have been raised by the Syrian people seeking substantial and lasting reform."

Forces Fire in Homs, Protests Continue

Reuters: Forces deploy in Syria's Homs city, residents defiant

"Plain clothes security forces toting Ak-47s deployed in Homs overnight, a witness said on Thursday, as the central Syrian city defied a crackdown following the killing of 21 pro-democracy protesters this week.

Residents, expecting more attacks from gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad known as "al-shabbiha," have organized into unarmed groups to guard neighborhoods, said the witness, who reached Homs after going through two road blocks manned by security police.

"The atmosphere is tense. Another day of strikes is planned tomorrow," the witness said.

The witness, a human rights campaigner who did not want to be further identified, was referring to shops that closed after 21 protesters were shot dead by security police and shabbiha forces on Monday and Tuesday, according to rights campaigners.

The protests, which intensified after a tribal leader died in custody following a demonstration in Homs ten days ago, have been demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption.

Homs, a strategic city 165 km (100 miles) off a main highway north of Damascus, became the latest flashpoint in Syria after demonstrations inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia erupted in southern Syria last month.

Assad has tried to appease mass discontent by ordering his cabinet to pass a law lifting 48 years of emergency rule, but opposition figures say the move, which the rubberstamp cabinet approved on Tuesday, will not halt repression.

Rights groups say more than 200 people have been killed since protests started. Washington said a new law requiring permits to hold demonstrations made it unclear if the end of emergency rule would make for a less restrictive Syrian state."

8 Protesters Killed Overnight in Homs

Reuters: Syrian forces kill 8 protesters in Homs

"Syrian forces killed 8 protesters overnight in the central city of Homs in confrontations after the death of a tribal leader in custody, a rights campaigner in Homs said on Monday.

"Homs is boiling. Security forces and the regime thugs have been provoking armed tribes for a month now. But civilians in large numbers also took to the streets in different areas of Homs last night and they were shot at in cold blood," the rights campaigner told Reuters."