Protesters defy crackdown in Syria

Anti-government protesters continue to take to the streets across Syria, despite reports of deaths and arrests as the military cracks down on demonstrators.

Rallies were staged in several locations after night prayers on Tuesday, including in Homs, Albu Kamal near the Iraqi border, Binnish in the north and in some Damascus suburbs.

Syria's interior ministry said on Tuesday that security forces had completed its operation in the al-Ramel al-Janoubi neighbourhood of the coastal city of Latakia, which activists say has been subjected to a four-day assault that has left at least 36 people dead.

Brigadier General Mohammad Hassan al-Ali said residents of al-Ramel al-Janoubi, which houses a Palestinian refugee camp, "is recovering and the citizens are practicing their normal life that was spoiled by the acts of the terrorist groups," according to the report.

The Local Co-ordination Committees said that those killed in Latakia on Tuesday included a 13-year-old boy shot dead by a sniper. Al Jazeera is unable to confirm details because of restrictions on reporting in Syria.

Troops raided and destroyed houses in several neighbourhoods while gunfire could be heard, residents said.

"The heavy machine gun fire and bullets were intense in areas of Latakia, Ramel, Masbah al-Shaab and Ain Tamra for more than three hours," said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The group said soldiers raided the Sqanturi area and made dozens of arrests.

The UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees in Latakia said that thousands of refugees have fled their camp which reportedly came under fire after President Bashar al-Assad's forces began shelling the city.

A senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organisation condemned the violence used against Palestinian refugees.

The assault on Latakia has drawn sharp Arab and international condemnation.

"The regime's violence continues despite widespread condemnation by the international community. The calls for the violence to stop, including from Syria's neighbours, have not been heeded," British Foreign Minister William Hague said in a statement.

Western diplomats said the United Nations' top human rights body is likely to hold an urgent meeting next week to discuss the escalating crackdown in Syria, according to the report.

Diplomats from two of the Human Rights Council's 47 member countries said they have collected enough signatures to call for the special meeting as early as Monday.

Signatures so far include at least one Arab nation, AP said. Syria's key regional ally Iran warned on Tuesday that any Western intervention in the "internal affairs" of Damascus would stoke "public hatred" in the region.

Meanwhile, dozens of army vehicles were seen leaving the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor on Tuesday after a military operation that activists said has left 32 people dead since troops seized control of the city last Wednesday.

Hillary Clinton calls on countries to sanction Syria

US wants nations with close economic links to Bashar al-Assad's regime to follow it to sanction Syria's oil and gas industry
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has called on other nations with closer economic links to Syria to join it in sanctions on Bashar al-Assad's regime.

She said Washington had been "very clear" in its statements about Assad's loss of legitimacy but the "real trick" was to convince "the Europeans and the Arabs and the Chinese and the Indians and others" to do more.

"We're going to sanction and we have been upping the sanctions. We're going to continue to do so," she said. "But we want others to follow, because Syria was not one of our major economic partners."

Clinton said it was necessary to sanction Syria's oil and gas industry.

A security crackdown has been ongoing in Syria since the start of Ramadan 11 days ago. Security forces killed at least 10 more people on Thursday as the raids and repression continued.

Mass demonstrations are expected across the country on Friday – the "day of not kneeling". A Facebook group, the Syrian Revolution 2011, said in a defiant message: "We only kneel before God."

U.S. could call for Al-Assad for violence in Syria

The international cries for Syria's government to end a bloody crackdown on civilians could intensify Wednesday as activist groups reported fresh onslaughts in several cities.

The United Nations Security Council is expected today to follow up on a statement last week that condemned the Syrian regime for attacks on peaceful protesters and called for both sides to end the violence.

U.S. government sources told, The United States is moving toward issuing an explicit call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

The move is expected to be announced in coming days after U.S. officials consult with the United Nations Security Council, they said the question of whether to call for al-Assad to step down has been under discussion over the past few weeks.

While international leaders mull their next steps, heavy gunfire, explosions and tanks permeated the eastern city of Deir Ezzor on today.

The observatory said in morning, "There are also large scale arrests in those areas as mobile service and landline communications have been completely cut out in the areas since the start of the military operation."

The conflict in Syria was fueled five months ago when Syrian forces swiftly suppressed protests in the southern city of Daraa.

On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and al-Assad engaged in more than six hours of talks in Damascus.

Davutoglu told, "Our primary target is the bloodshed to stop,". "We shared what needs to be done for the bloodshed to stop, for the civilian losses to end and for the political reform process, in line with the people's demands, to take place."

Al-Assad told Davutoglu that his country won't relent in chasing down the "armed terrorist groups" it blames for the violence that has engulfed the nation.

Al-Assad briefed Davutoglu on the killing and terrorizing in some Syrian cities by the purported groups. At the same time, he indicated that Syria is committed to reform and is open to help from other countries.

Russia called on the Syrian government Tuesday "to stop the violence and to introduce deep political changes," the Russian Foreign Ministry.

A Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has condemned violence in Syria in a rare rebuke directed at a fellow Arab leader, who leads a majority Sunni Muslim nation with a government dominated by minority Alawites, whose faith is a spinoff of Shiite Islam. Abdullah demanded an end "to the killing machine and the bloodshed."

"A mere diplomatic appeal to the Syrian authorities to end the ongoing violence against civilians will fall far short of what the situation demands."

U.S. Urges Citizens to Leave Syria 'Immediately'

The United States urged U.S. citizens Friday to depart Syria "immediately," and noted that the Damascus government has placed "severe" constraints on the travel of U.S. diplomats in the country.

The latest travel warning said, "The U.S. Department of State urges U.S. citizens in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available."

He warning, an update to an April 25 order for US embassy staff's family members and some non-emergency personnel to leave Syria, expressed growing concern over the violent crackdown by President Bashar al Assad's security forces against pro-democracy protesters.

Last month, pro-government demonstrators attacked the U.S. and French embassies in Damascus, smashing windows and spray-painting walls after the two Western envoys visited the flashpoint protest city of Hama.

Washington sent its ambassador back to Damascus on Thursday as it gradually cranked up the heat on Assad. Robert Ford had infuriated the Assad regime with his visit to Hama last month, but he has vowed to continue traveling around the country. French Ambassador Eric Chevallier also visited the city on July 7.

Syria responded by imposing a ban on the two envoys prohibiting them from traveling outside Damascus.

Noting that Syrian demonstrations have been "violently suppressed" since March, the State Department warned U.S. citizens that "demonstrations can occur with little or no warning anytime and anywhere, not just on Friday afternoons, as with many past demonstrations."

"U.S. citizens are urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of a demonstration."

"Syrian efforts to attribute the current civil unrest to external influences may lead to an increase in anti-foreigner sentiment," the State Department warned.. "Detained U.S. citizens may find themselves subject to allegations of incitement or espionage."

It said Syrian authorities often do not notify the U.S. embassy of a U.S. citizen's arrest until days or weeks later, and decline requests for consular access.