Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters after Friday prayers at several locations around the country, while the army sent reinforcements into a southern area where military defectors recently launched deadly attacks on regime troops.

The Local Coordination Committees and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one person was killed in the shooting in the restive central city of Homs, and a man who was wounded in the southern province of Daraa earlier in the day died of his wounds.

Friday's protests, which took place nationwide, came a day after Syrian army defectors killed 27 government security personnel in Daraa in apparently coordinated attacks that were among the deadliest by rebel troops so far.

Syria has seen a sharp escalation in armed clashes recently, raising concerns the country of 22 million is headed toward civil war. The U.N. raised its death toll for the Syrian uprising substantially this week, saying more 5,000 people have been killed since the revolt began nine months ago, AP reported.