Activists Report Syrian Forces Firing on Protesters

BEIRUT – Activists say Syrian security forces have fired on protesters calling for the downfall of President Bashar Assad in restive Hama province.

The Local Coordination Committees, an umbrella group of Syrian activists, said troops forcibly dispersed the protest Monday. There was no immediate word on casualties.

The Assad regime's crackdown on a 9-month-old uprising has persisted despite the presence of nearly 100 Arab League monitors inside the country.

On Sunday, a pan-Arab body called for the immediate withdrawal of the monitors because the regime has kept up killings of government opponents even with the observers there.