Syrian government forces shelled Thursday areas in the restive province of Homs, according to opposition members, hours before Arab foreign ministers were to meet in Cairo to discuss sanctions on Damascus.
"Shells rained down on the neighbourhood of Baba Amr and other nearby areas after protesters took to the streets," activists based in Beirut told dpa.
Two people were killed and more than five wounded in the crackdown, according to the activists.
They added that Syrian security forces had stormed areas near the Syrian-Turkish border searching for army defectors.
Arab League foreign ministers are to meet later Thursday in Cairo to discuss sanctions on Syria after the deadline for Damascus to comply with a peace deal expired.
Ahmed bin Heli, the deputy head of the Arab League, said in remarks published Thursday that the bloc would impose sanctions on Syria for its failure to comply with the plan, which calls for the withdrawal of the military from civilian areas.
"It is regrettable that the Syrian officials have not complied with this plan drafted within an Arab framework to stave off foreign intervention," he told the Egyptian semi-official newspaper Al-Ahram.
On Saturday, Syria said it would seek clarification from the pan-Arab organization for its plan to send Arab monitors into the country, saying their mandate violated national sovereignty.
More than 3,500 people have been killed in Syria since anti-government protests began in mid-March, according to the United Nations.