The number of demonstrators killed in Syria on Friday has grown to 72. Most of them were victims of a crackdown on anti-government protests in Homs, Dera'a and the suburbs of Damascus. More than 200 others were injured.

According reports from Syria, protesters came under fire from the Syrian police and security services, some protesters choked on tear gas, the National Committee on Human Rights said Friday.

According to the Committee, 15 people were killed in Dera'a province and suburbs of Damascus, and 15 - in the city of Homs in the center of the country.

According to the head of the National League for the Protection of Human Rights, Omar al-Courbet, 30 people were killed in the suburbs of Damascus. However, according to the national news agency SANA, the number of casualties during the demonstration was "only 8 people killed and 20 others wounded." The protesters’ actions were presented "as a criminal attack by armed gangs."

Syria's Interior Ministry issued a statement stating that, under the new law "formal approval from the authorities is required to conduct any demonstrations."

As human rights activist Ayman Aswad said, the authorities failed to bring down a wave of protests even by the announcement of the abolition of the state of emergency.

"The people want real change - an amnesty, freedom of speech, a multiparty system, an end to harassment by the police apparatus and a general election," he pointed out. Aswad argues if President Bashar al-Assad “really seeks to regain people's trust, he should distance himself from the law enforcement agencies and abolish the political monopoly of the ruling Baath Party."