Syrian forces kill at least two at Kurdish leader's funeral

Syrian security forces killed at least two people and wounded others when it opened fire at the funeral of assassinated Kurdish opposition leader Meshaal Tamo in Qamishli on Saturday. Tamo’s funeral had turned into a mass rally of 50,000 people, who called for the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Protests continue against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's regime REUTERS/Ali Jarekji

Tamo was killed on Friday, after four masked gunmen stormed his home in the northern city of Qamishli.

The unidentified men also wounded his son and a fellow activist in the Kurdish Future Party. Tamo founded the party, which considers the Kurds an integral part of Syrian society.

He was a member of the newly formed Syrian National Council, and had been recently released from prison after serving for three and a half years.

The United States State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters on Friday that Tamo’s murder showed “a clear escalation of regime tactics.”

France’s foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement that it was “shocked” by the killing and condemned the regime’s brutal crackdown on the opposition.

According to the United Nations, more than 2,900 people have been killed since the crackdown against anti-regime protests began in Syria last March.