Syrian Activists Discuss Ways to Oust Assad

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition figures are holding simultaneous meetings in Damascus and Turkey to discuss ways of ousting President Bashar Assad.

Organizers say some 400 people are taking part in the "National Salvation Conference" in Istanbul.

Opposition figure Mashaal Tammo told The Associated Press on Saturday that a similar conference that was to be held in Damascus in tandem was canceled after security forces fired on protesters Friday, killing at least 28 people, most of them in Damascus.

However, a small group of opposition figures, including Tammo, met in a private location in the capital and spoke by phone with the conference in Istanbul.

Addressing the Istanbul conference, Tammo said Assad had lost his legitimacy to rule and called on him to step down.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BEIRUT (AP) — Activists say Syrian security forces killed at least 28 people and wounded hundreds of others in a crackdown on anti-government protests.

A spokesman for the Local Coordination Committees which tracks anti-government demonstrations said Saturday that at least 28 were killed in Friday's protests, including 22 in the capital and its suburbs. Mohammad Abdullah said 22 of them died in the capital and its suburbs — the highest death toll in Damascus so far.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put Friday's death toll at 22 including 17 in the capital and suburbs. It said more than 300 were wounded some of them in critical condition.

Friday's demonstrations calling for the downfall of President Bashar Assad's regime were the largest since the uprising began more than four months ago.