At least two dissidents were killed by government forces on the eve of a visit by the Arab League chief Tuesday to push for an end to the violence and urge reforms and elections in Syria.
Rights activists said a 15-year-old boy and another civilian were killed by gunfire in the flashpoint central province of Homs, where another five bodies were found on Tuesday.
On the ground activists reported that anti-regime demonstrations took place late Monday near Homs, hours after Syrian forces raided several parts of the rebellious province where 12 people were killed Monday.
The latest bloodshed came as the embattled regime of President Bashar Assad prepared to host Arab League secretary general Nabil al-Arabi on Wednesday who is carrying a 13-point initiative to help end the crisis.
It also comes a day after the International Committee of the Red Cross said Syria had agreed, for the first time since anti-regime protests erupted more than five months ago, to allow its delegates to visit a detention center.
More than 2,200 people have been killed in Syria since the almost daily mass protests began, according to UN figures. Reports have emerged of systemic torture and murder in Syrian prisons.
Arabi has been tasked by foreign ministers of the 22-member bloc with travelling to Damascus with a 13-point document outlining proposals to end the bloodshed and push Syria to launch reforms.
According to a copy of the document leaked to the AFP, Arabi will propose that Assad hold elections in three years, move towards a pluralistic government and halt immediately the crackdown on anti-regime protesters.
The initiative calls for a "clear declaration of principles by President Bashar al-Assad specifying commitment to reforms he made in past speeches."
It says Assad should declare his "commitment to making the transition towards a pluralistic government and use his powers to speed up reforms and announce multi-candidate elections... for 2014, when his current mandate ends."
The proposal also calls on the Syrian government "to immediately end" the crackdown on protesters in order "to spare Syria from sliding into sectarian strife or providing justification for foreign intervention."
After a special meeting on Syria that was held on August 27, Arab foreign ministers issued a statement urging an "end to the spilling of blood and (for Syria) to follow the way of reason before it is too late."
But foreign intervention is considered highly unlikely and Russia on Tuesday made it clear it would block attempts to arm Syria's opposition movement as Western nations did in Libya.
The statement angered Syria which said it contained "unacceptable and biased language."
Assad's regime says it is fighting foreign-backed "armed terrorist gangs" and called the pro-democracy protests in Syria "a Zionist plot."