Syrian forces Friday shot dead at least 14 people when they opened fire to break up anti-regime demonstrations that flared across the country after weekly prayers, activists say.
Ten people, including two children, were killed in separate shootings on protesters in the southern province of Daraa, while three were killed in the central city of Homs and one in a Damascus suburb, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The shootings come a day after President Bashar Al Assad told the UN chief Ban Ki-moon that his security forces ended operations against civilians.
On Thursday the United States and Britain announced they were drafting a resolution to present to the United Nations Security Council targeting Syria's oil industry. To date sanctions have only targeted individuals within the Syrian regime.
The resolution comes on the heels of President Barak Obama calling for Assad to resign, a move the American president was reticent to make on his own -- and follows hardline positions taken by Saudi Arabia and Turkey towards Assad's regime.
Over 2,000 civilians have been killed by forces loyal to Assad in bloody crackdown that has gripped the country for almost five months.