Syrian security forces fire on protest, killing 4

BEIRUT Many activists in Syria have been opting for nighttime protests and candlelight vigils in recent days, aiming for a time when the security presence has thinned out.

The Local Coordination Committees in Syria help organize the protests against President Bashar Assad's regime. They said the deaths early Friday were in Dael.

Other demonstrations were reported overnight and early Friday in the coastal areas of Latakia, Banias and Jableh, the central cities of Hama and Homs and the northern province of Idlib.

Rights groups say the government's crackdown on dissent has killed more than 1,000 people over the past two months.