A crowd of about 15,000 gathered for the funeral of three people killed by government troops on Friday.
The procession turned into another mass protest against President Bashar Assad's regime. Amateur videos filmed by activists and posted online showed a crowd of people shouting "Allahu Akbar," or God is great, and "One, one, one, the Syrian people are one!"
Activists say troops opened fire, killing at least one person. Several others were injured and suffered difficulties breathing from tear gas.
While other Syrian cities have witnessed almost daily violence, and more recently clashes between regime forces and army defectors, Damascus has remained largely quiet.
The new violence erupted shortly after the Chinese envoy met with Assad at the presidential palace. China, along with Russia, recently supported Damascus by vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned Assad's regime.
According to the United Nations, 5,400 people have died so far in the uprising that began 11 months ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
