At least 22 people were reportedly killed Sunday in crackdowns by Syrian government troops on protests, as Damascus called for an emergency Arab summit to discuss its months-long unrest, dpa reported.
Twelve of the deaths occurred in the restive central province of Hama where government forces fired on protesters who were chanting slogans against President Bashar al-Assad, said the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.
The ten others were killed in the central province of Homs, the southern province of Daraa, and the eastern province of Deir az-Zour, according to the group.
The clampdown came one day after the Arab League decided to suspend Syria's participation in its meetings until the government implements a plan to end the violence against pro-democracy protesters.
Syrian state television said Sunday that Damascus had called for an Arab summit conference to be "devoted to addressing the Syrian crisis and looking into its negative repercussions on the Arab scene."
The television quoted an official source as saying that Syria would welcome a visit by a committee of Arab foreign ministers, to be accompanied by civilian or military monitors and media representatives, to "see at firsthand the situation on the ground."
The Arab League has given Syria until Wednesday to comply or face unspecified political and economic sanctions. The organization has also called its members to recall their ambassadors in Syria.
The League's head Nabil al-Arabi said Sunday that the orgaization was working on a mechanism to protect the civilians in Syria against violence.
"This mechanism will be finalized in the next days," al-Arabi added during a visit in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
On November 6, the Arab bloc accused al-Assad's government of failing to fulfil its commitments under a peace plan that demands withdrawing military forces from civilian areas and initiating talks with opposition.
Meanwhile on Sunday, hundreds of pro-government Syrians gathered in Damascus to protest the Arab League's moves.
State television showed footage of hundreds of people in a central Damascus square, waving flags and chanting slogans in support of al-Assad, urging him to "keep resisting" and lashing out at the "traitors" who oppose him.
Protesters believed to be loyal to the Syrian government had thrown stones at the Saudi and Turkish embassies in Damascus late Saturday.
Both countries' ties with Damascus have strained in recent months over the Syrian government's crackdown on opposition.
Months of efforts to levy United Nations sanctions against Syria have been blocked by China and Russia.
More than 3,500 people have been killed in Syria since pro-democracy protests began in mid-March, according to the UN.