( CNN ) -- What is usually a time of celebration was marked by gunfire and protests in Syria on Sunday as residents ushered in the first day of the Muslim holiday , Eid al-Adha . Twenty-three people were killed in the violence , activists said . At least 16 were killed in shelling and gunfire in the western city of Homs , a hotbed of anti-government sentiment and a government-led crackdown , according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria , a network of opposition activists . Three others were killed in Hama , two in Idlib and one person was killed in both Lattakia and Douma , the LCC said . Other people were reported wounded . In Aleppo , Syria 's largest city and the country 's economic center , residents took to the streets in anti-government protests after the morning Eid prayers , the LCC said . In the southern city of Daraa , where the unrest started in March , security forces fired in the air to disperse crowds and prevent them from demonstrating after prayers , the group said . CNN could not confirm the reports . Tough media restrictions in Syria have made it hard to verify events on the ground . Detainees at Syrian prisons have launched a hunger strike , the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said , protesting against what they claim were false promises by the Syrian authorities that they would be released . The coordination committees ' network added that more than 1,300 detainees at the `` central prison '' in Homs alone were participating . In a statement issued Sunday , the Arab League criticized the Syrian government 's failure to implement its proposal `` to end the violence used against protesters , '' and said Arab League foreign ministers would meet Saturday to discuss the situation . The organization has warned that a regional crisis could ensue if the Syrian government does not comply with its pledge last week to follow the Arab League 's plan . The government agreed to pull its army off the streets , release people jailed since the protests began in March and allow international journalists and Arab League observers to monitor the moves , Arab League ministers announced Wednesday . But opposition activists say that has not happened , and reports of violence in Syria have continued . On Sunday , Syria 's ambassador to the League , Youssef Ahmad , knocked its leaders ' comments , according to the government-run Syrian Arab News Agency . `` The AL ( Arab League ) Secretariat is supposed to play its role in coordinating between the Syrian government and the ministerial committee , not proclaim itself a party against the Syrian government , '' the ambassador said , according to SANA . The news agency also said that Syria 's foreign minister , Walid al-Moallem , sent letters to his counterparts in various countries , accusing the United States of inciting violence . In a bid to end the unrest , officials have called on Syrians to lay down their weapons -- a request that was discouraged by the United States -- al-Moallem wrote , SANA said . U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland was asked last week about a reported amnesty offer that would give Syrians 72 hours to turn themselves in . `` I would n't advise anybody to turn themselves in to regime authorities at the moment , '' she said . Eid al-Adha , which commemorates the Muslim prophet Ibraham 's willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah , is one of two major holidays in Islam . The other , Eid al-Fitr , marks the end of Ramadan , when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk . In ordinary times , the occasions are marked with joyous community prayers , acts of charity , visits from far-flung relatives , gift-giving and elaborate feasts . But Syria is in the midst of a nearly eight-month uprising that started with calls for elections and an end to abuses by security forces , but turned into widespread calls for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad . Despite a brutal government crackdown , the demonstrations continue . On Saturday , violence left at least 28 people dead , adding to a death toll that has climbed upward of 3,800 , the LCC said . SANA placed Saturday 's toll at 22 , and said the `` martyrs '' had died at the hands of `` armed terrorist groups '' -- a phrase the state has used to describe the anti-government demonstrators . Al-Assad and other officials have blamed the violence on outside forces attempting to undermine the 40-year rule of the president 's family . Syria has made previous pledges to withdraw armed forces from civilian areas , but in some of those cases , it withdrew only armored units and left infantry in place , or returned after a brief pullout . It also has made other moves aimed at defusing the protests , including plans to draft a new constitution , but they have failed to appease demonstrators . CNN 's Hamdi Alkhshali and journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report .
NEW : Over 1,300 detainees in Homs among hunger strikers , an opposition group says . Comment: The Arab League says its foreign ministers will meet to discuss the situation in Syria . Residents take to the streets in Aleppo after morning Eid prayers , activists say .