Syrian troops backed by armoured vehicles have reportedly shot dead seven civilians when they overran a rebellious Sunni Muslim village west of the city of Hama.
An activist organisation said houses were burned and dozens of people arrested.
Four women were among those said to have been killed in the village of Tamanaa in al-Ghab, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
Reports cannot be independently verified as the Syrian government has banned international media from the country.
Opposition activists said the Sunni Muslim village, one of dozens that have been torched since Mr Assad's forces seized control of the cities of Homs and Hama, had been a flashpoint for regular demonstrations against Assad.
Its defiance had angered the inhabitants of a nearby Alawite village called al- Aziziyeh, a recruiting ground for a militia loyal to President Bashar al-Assad known as shabbiha, the activists said.
Tensions between the two villages had risen after militia men from al-Aziziyeh killed two youths in Tamanaa on Friday after opening fire on an anti-Assad demonstration there, local activists said.
Towns and villages in the region, which is mostly Sunni but has some Alawite areas, have also been giving shelter to Syrian Free Army rebels, who have been stepping up their attacks on the Alawite-led military.
Syria's Sunni majority is at the forefront of the uprising against President Assad, whose sect is an offshoot of Shia Islam.
