At least six people have been killed in the Syrian government’s latest attack on protesters. Witnesses say the victims were shot to death when Syrian forces stormed an opposition-linked mosque in the city of Daraa. A number of civilians were also reportedly wounded. Thousands have marched in Daraa this week after the earlier deaths of five protesters. Syrian police have been accused of firing live ammunition and tear gas. At the United Nations, Rupert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed alarm at the Syrian crackdown.

Rupert Colville: “We are greatly concerned by the recent killings of protesters in Syria and reiterate the need to put an immediate halt to the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, especially the use of live ammunition.”