"Ali Hassan showed a video he said he filmed on his cell phone. It showed a column of thousands of unarmed male protesters walking near the town of Jabal al Zawiya, roughly 30 kilometers from Jisr Al-Shughur, on Friday June 3. Suddenly, long bursts of gun-fire rang out, sending the demonstrators running and screaming for cover. "This was a peaceful protest. The security forces started shooting at the people," Ali Hassan said. "They were 50 meters away from us. They were security officers wearing military uniforms. Some of them had beards and they didn't even speak Arabic." Ali Hassan denied Syrian government accusations that the protesters were armed. "I challenge anyone who says the protesters had guns or weapons," Ali Hassan said. "Nobody even carries a knife. I'm responsible for searching people who are going to demonstrate. Even if they have a wooden stick, we don't let them carry it." The ongoing bloodshed in Syria is putting its neighbor and close trade partner Turkey in an increasingly uncomfortable position. On Thursday night, Turkey's prime minister, a close political ally of the Syrian president, warned "we cannot keep supporting Syria in the face of all these developments."" - Lit