34 KILLED IN SYRIAN UPRISING.(News)

A TOTAL of 34 people were killed in Syria yesterday during one of the largest anti-government protests seen in its 10-week uprising.

President Bashar Assad's forces renewed their assault on towns seen as key to the demonstrations calling for an end to his family's 40-year rule.

The regime also cut internet service across most of the country, a potentially dire blow for a movement that motivates people with graphic YouTube videos of the crackdown and loosely organises protests on Facebook pages.

The internet shutdown, if it continues, could also hamper the movement's ability to reach the world outside Syria, where the government has severely restricted the media.

An activist said: "It is a real massacre. It is terrorism, they want the people to stay silent."

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YOUTUBE Image of potest in Kafr Nabl