Arab foreign ministers have urged the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop the bloodshed in his country, after activists said dozens of people were killed on Friday, October 28, Al Jazeera reported.

"The Arab ministerial committee expressed its rejection of the continued killings of civilians in Syria and expressed its hope that the Syrian government will take the necessary measures to protect them," the ministers said.

Arab ministers are due to meet Syrian officials on Sunday in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Anti-government rallies were held in many Syrian cities and towns on Friday, with protesters calling for international protection and a no-fly zone - like the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya that helped topple Muammar Gaddafi.

"We call on the international community to impose a no-fly zone so that the Syrian Free Army can function with greater freedom," the Syrian Revolution 2011 said on its Facebook page.

A defecting army officer who has taken refuge in Turkey, Colonel Riad al-Asaad, claims to have established an opposition armed force called the "Syrian Free Army," but its strength and numbers are unknown.

Syria's opposition National Council has also called for international protection, but has not explicitly requested military intervention.

Assad has not used warplanes against protesters and a no-fly zone would have little impact on the crackdown unless-- as in the case of Libya - pilots attacked his ground forces and military bases.

Activists said 44 civilians were killed on Friday, most of them in the central cities of Homs and Hama.