Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appointed former agriculture minister Adel Safar the new premier on Sunday and asked him to form a government as thousands joined the funeral procession for protesters killed in Douma.

Cell phone and internet networks failed for several hours on Sunday "due to an overload", according to a customer representative, a day after authorities carried out a wave of arrests in protest cities.

Facebook group The Syria Revolution 2011, which has emerged as the motor behind demonstrations demanding "freedom" in Syria, is calling for sit-ins across the country Friday despite a bid by the state to reach out to protesters.

"The Friday of Martyrs. In all governorates, in all mosques, in all squares. An overnight sit-in until our demands are met -- all our demands," read a banner poster as the group's profile picture.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri on Tuesday tendered his government's resignation to President Bashar al-Assad, who promptly re-appointed him caretaker premier, state media reported.

"President Bashar al-Assad today accepted the resignation of the government of Mohammed Naji Otri and designated it to act in a caretaker capacity pending the formation of a new cabinet," state-run news agency SANA said.

Syrian authorities have decided to lift emergency rule, a presidential adviser told Agence France Presse on Sunday as residents of the northern city of Latakia buried victims of a wave of unrest that has put President Bashar al-Assad under unprecedented pressure.

Troops have deployed in Latakia, a religiously diverse port city 350 kilometers northwest of Damascus, where at least 12 people have been killed by gunfire involving snipers since Friday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and visiting Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun held talks Wednesday on the situation in Lebanon and the ongoing efforts to form a new Lebanese government, Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported.

Talks also tackled "the latest developments in the Arab and regional arenas," SANA said.