Assad kept the fires from burning for a little while but the inevitable has happened. Protests occur, protestors shot dead, protests spread.
Gunfire has been heard during a fresh protest march in the Syrian city of Deraa, reports say.
The marchers had attended funerals for some of the 25 protesters shot dead on Wednesday by security forces.
Demonstrations were also reported in the capital, Damascus, where there were some arrests, and in the towns of Hama and Tall.
Opposition activists had called for nationwide protests after Friday prayers, following a week of unrest.
The city of Deraa, south of Damascus, has become the centre of a serious challenge to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Some of the protesters started a fire under a bronze statue of his father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, witnesses reported.
More than 40 people are thought to have been killed in the town in a week of protests, although it has been hard to verify the accounts.
Unconfirmed reports on Friday said another group of protesters trying to reach Deraa were killed in a nearby village when security forces opened fire.
A human rights activist told AFP news agency the deaths occured in Salamen village. A witness told al-Jazeera television channel at least 20 had died.
In Damascus, hundreds marched on King Faisal Street chanting: “Peaceful, Peaceful, God, Syria, Freedom”.
