Syrian security forces opened fire on a funeral procession for an activist in the oil-rich east yesterday as they pressed a crackdown on dissent, a human rights group said.

“Syrian security forces in Deir Ezzor fired live bullets at a funeral procession for Ziad al-Obeidi,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in reference to one of its associates on the ground.

“Some 7,000 people took part in the funeral which turned into a demonstration calling for the fall of the regime,” the Britain-based watchdog said.

Mr Obeidi, 42, was killed by security forces who were hunting for him in Deir Ezzor, a province in Syria’s east. He had gone into hiding in August during military operations in the area.

Security forces yesterday also carried out raids and arrests in the flashpoint central province of Homs and in the outskirts of Damascus, with 19 people arrested in Dmeir, the Observatory said.

The official news agency Sana, meanwhile, said two security agents were ambushed and killed in the central city of Hama, a hotbed of dissent and the focal point of a 10-day military operation in August.

President Bashar al-Assad’s regime blames “armed gangs” for the violence that has wracked Syria for the past seven months, but activists say most fo the deaths are caused by security forces putting down non-violent protests. UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Friday that more than 3,000 people, including 187 children, have been killed in the fierce crackdown on dissent.

In its latest toll, the Observatory said security forces killed 12 people in Syria on Saturday alone.

A Damascus court, meanwhile, decided to release on bail Mazen Adi, a leading opposition figure who was detained on May 11, his lawyer said.

“The criminal court of Damascus decided on Sunday to free Mazen Adi, leader of the (banned) People’s Democratic Party on 30,000 Syrian pounds (600 dollars) bail,” said his lawyer Michel Shammas.