Syrian troops and tanks intensified a crackdown on the restive central city of Homs on Wednesday, killing at least 14.
Homs has been the focal point of some of the largest protests of the uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
Activists said fresh troops backed by tanks swept into Homs at dawn with most of the killings in the old neighborhoods of the city, Bab Dreib and Bostan Diwan.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group said "military reinforcements including 20 truckloads of soldiers entered the city" leading to "intense gunfire in the market and governorate headquarters".
The Local Coordination Committees (LCC), an activist group, said troops used "gunfire and stun grenades to terrorise the people near the police headquarters around the citadel".
Telephone and internet connections were cut in some parts of the city.
The government insists that it has a reform program in place, but opposition leaders say there can be no free and fair elections while the ruling Baath party is in power.
They have also refused to negotiate while it continues to kill peaceful protesters.
France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Wednesday accused Syria of carrying out "crimes against humanity," while late Tuesday night it was announced Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi's visit to Damascus was cancelled by the Assad regime at the last minute.
Arabi was expected to carry a letter from the 23-member league imploring Assad to terminate his crackdown and pursue reforms. The Arab League announced it will convene again on September 13th to discuss the violence in Syria.
More than 2,200 people have died in five months of protests against the Assad family's multi-decade rule and reports of systemic torture and murder in Syrian prisons have begun to surface.
Foreign journalists are not allowed access to Syria and reports of casualties cannot be independently verified.