Syrian troops fire during protests; 3 killed.

Protest organizers in Syria say security forces have fired on an anti-regime demonstration in the central city of Homs, killing three people.Syria has launched a bloody crackdown over the past two months on an unprecedented uprising against President Bashar Assad, unleashing the army and security forces to crush dissent. Human rights groups say more than 850 people have been killed in the crackdown.

Syria has blamed the unrest on armed thugs and foreign agitators.

A group of local committees in Syria help organize the protests. The committee in Homs confirmed the three killed on Friday.

According to the organizers, there were also protests on Friday in the Mediterranean port of Banias, the central city of Hama and the coastal city of Latakia.
Eyewitnesses say Syrian security forces have started shooting into the air to disperse thousands of protesters calling for regime change in a flashpoint coastal town.

Residents and activists say the shooting happened after Friday prayers in the Mediterranean port of Banias. They say that protests against President Bashar Assad are also under way in the central cities of Homs and Hama, and in Damascus' outskirts.

The eyewitnesses and activists also say there was no immediate word on casualties. They spoke by phone on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals.

The protests come as Syria has accused the United States of meddling after the speech by President Barack Obama, who said on Thursday that Assad should lead his country to democracy or "get out of the way."