You're reading: Syrian opposition calls marches to main squares

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's opposition is calling on its re-energized protest movement to march to main squares around the country after the Friday prayers.

The call comes as the presence of Arab League monitors has led to huge anti-government rallies around the country.

The regime of President Bashar Assad has responded with gunfire.

The Local Coordination Committees activist group says at least 130 people have been killed in Syria since the Arab observers began work Tuesday.

The opposition called Friday for a "march to freedom squares."

Authorities are apparently worried about multiple mass sit-ins modeled after Cairo’s Tahrir Square, focus of protests that toppled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February.

The U.N. says more than 5,000 people have been killed since the Syrian uprising began in March.