A Syrian human rights activist said Sunday that security forces stormed the two suburbs in the countryside of Damascus and launched a massive campaign of arrests. This was accompanied by firing bullets and cutting communication networks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said "military and security forces broke into Sabqa at 2:00 pm and Hamouria and began the process of mass arrests."
It added that the sounds of "heavy shootings" were heard in the two regions. All these moves come a day after Syrian forces killed at least 11 people in the cities of Latakia and Homs, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
So far, 2185 people have been killed since anti regime protests started in Syria in mid-March. This figure includes 1775 civilians and 410 security guards, according to the observatory.
Damascus has been under increasing international pressure to stop the violent crackdown. The White House said in a statement that U.S. President Barack Obama and Saudi King Abdullah held a telephone conversation on Saturday and asked the Syrian regime to stop the violence against the demonstrators "immediately". The White House said in a statement the two leaders discussed during the phone call "regional issues and the situation in Syria," and expressed "their concerns over the Syrian government's use of violence against its citizens."
The statement continued, "They agreed that the brutal campaign of violence waged by the Syrian regime against the people must be stopped immediately and the two plan to continue their consultations on the situation in the coming days."
