Syrian tanks mounted with machine-guns opened fire in the city of Homs today, killing at least nine people, activists said.

Syrian security forces killed at least 13 people today during mass protests against the regime of President Bashar Assad, activists said.

Residents of Hama have told of indiscriminate shelling by the army, snipers aiming at civilians and corpses piling up in the streets in the wake of a week-long military siege of the defiant Syrian city.

A besieged Syrian city came under fresh artillery fire early today as a deadly military assault left President Bashar Assad’s regime increasingly isolated, with Arab nations forcefully joining the international chorus of condemnation for the first time.

Syrian security forces have opened fire on protesters in the capital and other major cities, killing at least eight people as tens of thousands gathered for huge anti-government rallies, witnesses said.