Nine people have reportedly been killed in Syria, after tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across the country in fresh protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

Witnesses and activists said anti-government protesters were calling on Assad to "leave", braving a security crackdown ordered by the authorities to quell unprecedented protests sweeping the nation since March.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, a network of activists, said three demonstrators were shot dead by security forces on Friday in the central city of Homs, three in the northern province of Idlib, two in Damascus suburbs and one in Latakia.