Syrian security forces on Monday killed five people and injured 20 others in the flashpoint city of Homs, in a continued crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, activists said, dpa reported.
"A woman and three men, [aged] 14 to 22, were killed in the province of Homs," Rami Abdel Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the German press agency dpa.
He also said that a Syrian soldier was killed in Homs.
Claims are almost impossible to independently verify in Syria, as foreign journalists are banned.
An estimated 2,600 people have been killed in Syria during the unrest that started six months ago. The international community have accused Syria of using live ammunition against the unarmed pro-democracy protesters, who are calling for the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.
Abdel Rahman said: "There were no protests, but the Syrian security forces are carrying out house-to-house searches in the area of Houla, in the province of Homs.
He added that the Syrian army is also massing troops in the province of Daraa, where demonstrations against al-Assad's regime first erupted six months ago.
"More than 30 buses carrying members of the security forces on Sunday night entered Dael (village), where they have since arrested 45 people," Abdel Rahman said.
Earlier, a 26-year-old man died of his injuries Monday after being among a group of people whom security forces shot at the night before in the town of Irbin, near Damascus.
The Syrian forces also conducted as series of of arrests in Aleppo, the country's second-largest city, eastern Deir Ezzor and the coastal cities of Latakia and Banias, Abdel Rahman said.