Beirut - Syrian forces shelled a town in the country's restive north and opened fire on scattered protests nationwide, killing at least 21 people on Friday, activists said. Hundreds of Syrians streamed across the border into Turkey, trying to escape the violence. A Syrian opposition figure told The Associated Press by telephone that thousands of protesters overwhelmed security officers and torched the courthouse and police station in the northern town of Maaret al-Numan, and the army responded with tank shells. The man spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Syria's state-run television appeared to confirm at least part of the report, saying gunmen opened fire on police stations in Maaret al-Numan, causing casualties among security officials. The Local Coordination Committees, a group that documents anti-government protests in Syria, said there were 10 deaths in the northwestern province of Idlib. The group said many of the casualties were in Maaret al-Numan. Forty kilometers to the west in the same province, Syrian troops backed by dozens of tanks massed outside the virtually deserted town of Jisr al-Shughour and shelled nearby villages. Syrians who escaped into Turkey depicted a week of revolt and mayhem in Jisr al-Shughour, saying police turned their guns on each other and soldiers shed their uniforms rather than fire on protesters. Syrian state television said Friday the operation aimed to restore security in the town, where authorities say 120 officers and security personnel were killed by "armed groups" last week. Syrians fleeing the violence continued to pour into Turkey. Nearly 4000 had crossed by Friday, nearly all of them in the past two days, according to Turkish media.
