Security forces have raided a town in central Syria after pounding it with heavy artillery, opposition activists said, only hours before a deadline for Damascus to stop its lethal crackdown.
The latest violence came a day after Syrian forces killed 15 civilians, including two children, while dispersing anti-regime protests in flashpoint cities across the country, according to an updated toll from activists.
"Soldiers entered the town of Shayzar in the Hama region after bombing it with heavy artillery. They then began searches," said an opposition umbrella group, the Local Coordination Committees.
In a new toll from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 15 civilians died yesterday, up from an earlier figure of 12.
The government of President Bashar al-Assad has yet to officially respond to Arab League demands that Syria end its bloody suppression of a popular uprising.
Syria has been told by its Arab peers to stop the lethal repression against protesters by 10pm tonight Irish time or risk sanctions, and the Arab League has already suspended it from the 22-member bloc.
The pan-Arab organisation was expected to issue a statement later.
Meanwhile, Britain is to open talks with the opposition movement in Syria.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague will meet members of the country's opposition in London next week.
