Syrian forces kill 3 protesters in Damascus-activists

AMMAN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Syrian security forces shot

dead at least three pro-democracy demonstrators on Friday at one

of the biggest protests against President Bashar al-Assad in the

capital Damascus, opposition activists said.

The three youths were killed in the afternoon, following

Friday prayers, when thousands of demonstrators marched out of

mosques in the Mezze district of the city, which is next to

Umaayad Square, a few kilometres from Assad's residence,

activists added.

Syria's unrest started out as civilian protests across the

country last March but now includes a parallel armed struggle

spearheaded by the Free Syria Army.

The rebel fighters have yet to do much more than stage

hit-and-run attacks and skirmishes. But Western and Arab powers

fear the crisis is sliding into a civil war which could inflame

the region's patchwork of religious, ethnic and political

rivalries.

Assad portrays the opposition as foreign-backed terrorists

and has promised reforms while rejecting the idea of

surrendering power.

(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom; Editing by

Andrew Heavens)