UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has accused the Syrian regime of committing “almost certain” crimes against humanity as activists reported fresh violence and the arrest of several prominent dissidents.

Syrian security forces have opened fire on thousands of protesters killing at least one as soldiers tried to head off demonstrations by occupying mosques and blocking public squares, activists say.

The Syrian government has pledged to consider lifting some of the Middle East’s most repressive laws in an attempt to stop a week-long uprising in a southern city from spreading and threatening its nearly 50-year rule.

Police have sealed a southern city where security forces killed five protesters, a prominent Syrian rights activist said today.