Activists said troops shot dead six people in assaults on
the cities of Homs and Hama, and that at least two more people were reported
killed near the Turkish border.
The latest bloodshed came as the head of the International
Committee of the Red Cross, Jakob Kellenberger, ended a visit to Syria, where
rights groups say 10,000 people have been arrested since anti-regime protests
erupted in mid-March.
The ICRC said Kellenberger met Assad before winding up his
visit, a day after the organization was for the first time granted access to a
Syrian detention center.
Its delegates visited Damascus central prison in Adra suburb
on Sunday.
"Initially, we will have access to persons detained by
the Ministry of the Interior, and we are hopeful that we will soon be able to
visit all detainees," Kellenberger said in a statement.
The ICRC said Kellenberger "welcomed the progress made
in terms of access to areas affected by the ongoing violence. He emphasized one
of his main concerns now is to ensure that the wounded and sick are able to
obtain medical care."
On the ground, "more than 30 military vehicles and
security forces raided Hama this morning and heavy gunfire was heard in the
city," said Omar Idlibi, spokesman of the Local Coordination Committees
(LCC).
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 80 people were
arrested in the Al-Khalidiyeh district of Homs, while the LCC spokesman said a
sniper in the Idlib region killed a man who was trying to cross the border into
Turkey.
