Syrian Troops kill 23 protesters

DAMASCUS, Nov 5 (AFP): Syrian troops killed at least 23 people Friday when demonstrators took to the streets denouncing "despots and tyrants," as world powers cast doubt on the regime's commitment to an Arab peace deal. Troops raked several residential neighbourhoods of Homs -- a city of some one million people that has been at the frontline of protests raging since mid-March -- with heavy machineguns mounted on tanks, a watchdog said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 23 people were killed across Syria, nine of them in Homs. Further north in Hama, four civilians were shot, while seven people were killed in the town of Kanaker, outside the capital, and a protester was shot dead by security forces in Damascus.