The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that gunfire is continuing in Baniyas.

"The sound of gunfire is being heard now in Baniyas. The demonstration erupted although around 1,000 people from the city and around it have been detained in the last few weeks," a spokesman for the Observatory told Reuters.

Witnesses say large demonstrations are also taking place in Hama and Tel (north of Damascus). One witness said the combined crowd at two demonstrations in Hama was as much as 20,000.