At least 22 people were killed Sunday by Syrian government forces and militia, amid reports that Damascus was ready to endorse an Arab League plan to end violence in the country, dpa reported.
Al Manar TV, a Lebanese television channel run by the pro-Syrian group Hezbollah, reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem had informed the Arab League of Damascus' willingness to sign a pact allowing Arab monitors into the country.
However, Syrian official media did not comment on the report and no immediate reaction was available from the League.
During talks in Qatar on Saturday, Arab foreign ministers had asked the government of President Bashar al-Assad to allow in observers within 24 hours or face sweeping economic sanctions.
The ministers also approved a freezing of the assets of 19 top Syrian officials and banned them from travelling to Arab countries.
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an online group that documents anti-government protests, reported that 22 people were killed in the country Sunday.
Most of them were shot dead by government security and army forces the central restive province of Homs.
The state news agency SANA reported security agencies had arrested dozens of suspects in Homs for allegedly smuggling gunmen, weapons and drugs into the country. The government has repeatedly blamed the unrest on "armed terrorist groups", allegedly financed by foreign powers.
More than 4,000 people have been killed in Syria since mid-March, according to the latest United Nations estimates.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called Sunday for the international community to increase its pressure on Damascus to end its crackdown on regime opponents.
"The German government is ready and willing to increase our political pressure on Syria," Westerwelle said following a meeting with US Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the German city of Bonn.
"We cannot accept these repressions; we cannot accept these atrocities, and therefore we ask for a common and united language of the international community which sends a clear signal to the people in Syria," Westerwelle added.
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