9 dead across Syria as Arab League deadline for Damascus expires

At least nine people were killed across Syria on Saturday, activists said, as an Arab League deadline for Damascus to stop its lethal crackdown on dissent was set to expire.

Six civilians were killed by gunfire from security forces, in several operations in the restive provinces of Homs, Hama and Idlib, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Another person was shot dead by a sniper in Homs, Syria's third-largest city, the head of the Britain-based group said in a telephone call with AFP.

A mutinous officer earlier reported that two army deserters were killed in clashes with regular troops in Qusayr, in Homs province.