Tens of thousands of Syrian protesters took to the streets on Friday calling for President Bashar al-Assad's overthrow, and a rights group said security forces had shot at least one demonstrator dead.
"Tell the world Bashar is without legitimacy," shouted several thousand protesters in the Damascus suburb of Irbin, an eyewitness said, the chants echoing over the phone. Syria has expelled most foreign journalists.
A Syrian rights group said security forces shot dead one protester when they fired at a large demonstration in the town of Kiswa, near Damascus. Syrian television said gunmen, who authorities have blamed for the violence, had opened fire on security forces in the town.
In the central cities of Homs and Hama protesters shouted "the people want the downfall of the regime," while in Deraa, cradle of the uprising, people waved banners rejecting Assad's promise in a speech this week to launch a national dialogue.
Protests also erupted in western coastal cities and eastern provinces near Iraq, a day after Syrian troops swept to the northern border with Turkey, prompting another 1,500 refugees to flee across the frontier into camps which Turkish officials say now host more than 11,000 refugees.
Syrian television said on Friday army units were "completing their deployment" in border villages. It said there had been no casualties during the operation and that soldiers were greeted with traditional welcomes of "flowers and rice" by residents.
Assad's repression of the protests, in which Syrian rights groups say more than 1,300 civilians have been killed, has triggered Western condemnation and a gradual escalation of U.S. and European Union economic sanctions against Syrian leaders.
On Friday the European Union announced extended sanctions against Syria, including against three commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard accused of helping Damascus curb dissent. Syria denies Iran has played any role in tackling the unrest.
Four Syrian officials were also targeted, bringing to 34 the number of individuals and entities on the list which already includes Assad and his top officials.
Despite strong rhetoric among Western countries against Assad, there has been little suggestion they plan to go beyond economic sanctions to tougher action such as the military intervention launched against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
U.S. WORRIED
The United States, which has also imposed targeted sanctions on Syrian officials, said the reported Syrian army move to surround and target the town of Khirbat al-Joz just 500 metres (yards) from the Turkish border was a worrying new development.
"Unless the Syrian forces immediately end their attacks and their provocations that are not only now affecting their own citizens but (raising) the potential of border clashes, then we're going to see an escalation of conflict in the area," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
The crackdown has caused a crisis in Assad's once-warm relations with Turkey, which has become strongly critical.
Clinton said she had discussed the situation with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and President Barack Obama had discussed it with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Davutoglu said Erdogan would speak to Assad on Friday.
Davutoglu spoke with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem on Thursday and Ankara summoned the Syrian ambassador. Turkey's 2nd Army Commander visited the Guvecci border post to take stock of the new troop deployments.
In an apparent easing of Ankara's criticism, Davutoglu said on Friday Assad's speech contained "positive elements in it as signals of reform", adding it was important that these be realised through "concrete steps".
At the border, only a handful of Syrian troops were visible on Friday, some occupying a prominent building at the top of the hill overlooking the border, directly across from the Turkish village of Guvecci.
Three Syrian soldiers could also be seen at sand-bagged machine gun post established on top of a house in the Syrian border village of Khirbat al-Joz. Camps on the Syrian side of the border fence appeared to be completely deserted and no more refugees were crossing.
The United States has steadily sharpened the tone of its rhetoric toward Assad, saying he is losing credibility and must either implement promised reforms or get out of the way.
Syrian authorities blame Islamist militants and armed gangs for killing more than 200 police and security personnel.
Protests have grown in northern areas bordering Turkey following military assaults on towns and villages in the Jisr al-Shughour region of Idlib province to the west of Aleppo that had sent more than 10,000 people fleeing across Syria's 840-km border with Turkey.
Syria's state television said hundreds of people were heading back to Jisr al-Shughour. A refugee who said he was at Yayladagi camp said on Thursday a delegation of notables from the city told people it was safe to go back, but that refugees told them there would be "no return until the fall of the (Assad) regime".
Syria, a mostly Sunni Muslim country of 20 mln with Kurdish, Alawite and Christian minorities, is vulnerable to sectarian tensions. Assad is a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, and his opponents say he has increasingly relied on loyalist Alawite troops and irregular forces known as 'shabbiha'.
Many Sunnis resent the privileges gained by Alawites who have dominated the security apparatus during the 41 years of Assad family rule. Some dislike Assad's policy of aligning Syria further with Shi'ite Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas.
