According to sources, Syrian security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters, leading to the deaths of seven or more people.

The deaths occurred on Friday, October 7, as thousands of protesters poured onto streets around the nation with renewed demands for President Bashar al-Assad's departure.

During the protests, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad blamed much of his country's violent unrest on "terrorists." In a presentation to the U.N. Human Rights Council on October 7, he said that assailants had killed in excess of 1,100 people in the country.

The United Nations, which meets in Geneva, is reviewing Syria's crackdown on the pro-reform demonstrations. The meeting takes place one day after the United Nations revised its death estimates from Syria's seven-month clampdown on dissent to 2,900.

In a related step, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced Friday that Assad will need to relinquish his command if he fails to implement reforms.

Russia and China both vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution on Tuesday that condemned the Syrian government for its reaction to civilian protesters.

On October 10, a delegation from Syria that includes resistance leaders will be visiting Moscow.