DAMASCUS, Syria, April 8 (UPI) -- The government of Syrian President Bashir al-Assad used deadly force on protesters Friday, witnesses said.
State news organizations blamed protesters, saying "saboteurs and conspirators" fired on security forces and civilians, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The protests began after Friday prayers.
Some of the worst violence occurred in Daraa in the southern part of the country, which has been one of the major protest sites. Witnesses said at least 17 protesters were killed there, while the government put the number of deaths at two.
Government forces were dressed in civilian clothes, witnesses said.
Scores of people have died in Syria since large-scale protests broke out. Assad has offered concessions, including extending citizenship this week to thousands of Kurds who were stripped of their citizenship in 1962.
Assad also has fired some provincial governors.
U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement Friday calling on the Syrian government "to stop repressing its citizens and to listen to the voices of the Syrian people calling for meaningful political and economic reforms."
"I strongly condemn the abhorrent violence committed against peaceful protesters by the Syrian government today and over the past few weeks," he said. "I also condemn any use of violence by protesters."
The president said the United States extends its condolences to families "and loved ones" of the victims and called upon Syrian authorities "to refrain from any further violence" against peaceful protesters. He said "arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture of prisoners that has been reported must end now, and the free flow of information must be permitted so that there can be independent verification of events on the ground."
"Until now, the Syrian government has not addressed the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. Violence and detention are not the answer to the grievances of the Syrian people," Obama said.