Syrian authorities are continuing military crackdown on protesters in several cities as an effort to tightened a grip in the main parts of the country where massive pro-democracy protests are ongoing, an official military source said.
More than 600 people are believed to have been killed in the popular uprising since mid-March.
Troops and tanks entered residential areas in the central city of Homs, as well as the Tafas and Dael areas in the southern city of Daraa.
On Saturday troops and tanks swept in the Syrian city of Baniyas, a focus of anti-government protests, Al Jazeera reported.
Up to 30 people were killed in Homs, Hama and Jableh on Friday in what protesters called a “day of defiance.”
Residents had formed human chains to try to stop the operation.
The EU launched an arms embargo against Syria on Friday. It also imposed a travel ban on 14 Syrian government officials and froze their assets.
DAMASCUS, May 8 (RIA Novosti)