Syrian security forces fired live ammunition to break up a protest against President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Saturday, killing at least one person, opposition activists said. A Chinese envoy met the Syrian leader earlier in the day and urged all sides to end 11 months of bloodshed, while backing a government plan for elections. The shooting broke out at the funerals of three youths killed on Friday in an anti-Assad protest that was one of the biggest in the capital since a nationwide uprising started. “They started firing at the crowd right after the burial. People are running and trying to take cover in the alleyways,” said a witness, speaking to Reuters in Amman by telephone. The opposition Syrian Revolution Coordination Union said the gunfire near the cemetery had killed one mourner and wounded four, including a woman who was hit in the head. Up to 30,000 demonstrators had taken to the streets in the Mezze district of Damascus, witnesses said. Footage of the funeral broadcast live on the Internet showed women ululating to honour the victims. Mourners shouted: “We sacrifice our blood, our soul for you martyrs. One, one, one, the Syrian people are one”. Assad described the turmoil racking Syria as a ploy to split the country. “What Syria is facing is fundamentally an effort to divide it and affect its geopolitical place and historic role in the region,” he was quoted by Syrian state television as saying after meeting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun. Zhai, speaking hours before the shooting at the funerals, said China backed Assad's plan for a referendum on Feb. 26 followed by multi-party elections to resolve the crisis. The opposition and the West have dismissed the plan as sham. The Chinese envoy appealed for an end to violence from all sides, including the government and opposition forces. His comments nevertheless amounted to a show of support against world condemnation of Assad's crackdown on the popular uprising. “China supports the path of reform taking place in Syria and the important steps that have been taken in this respect,” he said. China's state news agency Xinhua highlighted Zhai's comments that China was “deeply concerned by the escalating crisis”. Syrian government forces, meanwhile, renewed their bombardment of the opposition stronghold of Homs Saturday. A blanket of snow covered Homs, on the highway between Damascus and the commercial hub Aleppo, as Syrian troops pounded mainly Sunni Muslim rebel districts with rockets and artillery.
