Military tanks, agents and pro-regime gunmen spilled into Syrian towns, leaving at least five people dead in President Bashar Assad's latest crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Gunfire filled the air as armoured vehicles surged through the port city of Latakia on Saturday, a day after thousands of demonstrators in cities across Syria chanted for Assad's execution.
About 20 tanks fanned out into the city's al-Ramel neighbourhood amid intense shooting, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The source of the gunfire is not yet known.
Explosions and gunfire were also heard in the nearby neighbourhood of Slaibeh, reported the Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees activist group. Two people were reportedly killed.
Abdul-Rahman said security agents rushed into the town of Qusair and other villages near Lebanon's border, arresting scores of residents. One person was reportedly killed in Qusair.
Military personnel also moved through the nearby towns of Hawla, Taldaw and Sarmin, reportedly wounding 10 people. One person was also killed in a security raid in Daraya, a suburb of the capital Damascus, while another was killed in the city of Hama.
The fresh attacks in Latakia and Qusair are part of an ongoing crackdown against protesters demanding Assad's ouster. Regions across the embattled country have seen large anti-regime protests since demonstrations first broke out in mid-March.
Anti-government sentiment reached new heights on Friday when crowds rushed into streets across Syria, defying bullets and rooftop snipers to shout for the president's dismissal and execution.
Security forces killed at least 14 protesters during the clash, according to human rights activists.
The numbers of dead and wounded, as well as other details, are difficult for journalists to independently verify, as most foreign media have been banned from the country and local news reports face heavy restrictions.
International disapproval
In light of the violence, Canada moved to broaden economic sanctions against Syria on Saturday.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced that Canada will prevent additional members of Assad's government from travelling to Canada and has frozen assets of more entities linked to the regime.
"We're very committed to this and we'll continue to work with our allies and reach out to others to take more significant action," Baird said in a conference call from Mexico City.
The sanctions are an extension of measures Canada imposed in May.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama reached out to leaders in Britain and Saudi Arabia to discuss the turmoil in Syria.
White House officials said Obama spoke separately to British Prime Minister David Cameron and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. U.S. officials said all three leaders agreed that Assad must end his attacks on civilians.
The White House said the group will speak again in the coming days to brainstorm ways to end Assad's crackdown.
On the same day, the U.S. renewed calls for a global trade embargo on oil and gas from Syria. U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton warned America's allies that they must "get on the right side of history" and cut links with a government that uses violence to repress protesters and will not reform.
Rachad Antonius, of the Universite du Quebec a Montreal, said pressure on the Syrian government will have a greater effect if it comes from states that are friendly to the regime, such as China or Russia.
But in the end, there is no easy path to democracy in Syria, he said, because it is unclear what kind of government the opposition movement has to offer.
"There is no easy solution," Antonius told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel. "It's not clear that if a dismissal of the regime, a complete fall of the regime, would but in place a process of democratization. These are long term processes and essentially they will be determined by the balance of power within local forces."
But Bassem Mroue, a journalist with The Associated Press, has been monitoring the unrest in Syria and said Clinton's appeal may be an effective way to pressure Assad.
"This might have an effect," Mroue told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel on Saturday in a phone call from Beirut. "Oil is one of the main sources of foreign currency to the country."
Assad's four-year term as president expired earlier this year. His government's crackdown on demonstrators has drawn broad international condemnation, particularly for its deadly siege on the city of Hama -- which is considered the epicenter of the uprising.
In late July, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement asking Assad to allow democratic reform or step aside. In the message he said it was "utterly indefensible" to use military force to suppress the Syrian people.
With files from The Associated Press
