Government troops clamped down Wednesday on volatile areas inside the Syrian capital Damascus, rounding up scores of people, opposition activists said.
"Security forces entered the area of Kfar Soussa in Damascus at dawn and deployed in the streets. They stormed into houses causing panic among their residents," Ghayath Abdullah, a Syrian activist in the area, told dpa.
"More than 30 people were arrested in the raid," he added.
The crackdown followed mass overnight protests against the government in the area, where the Iranian embassy and several governmental buildings are based, added the activist.
Trucks carrying pro-government militiamen - known as Shabiha - were patrolling the nearby neighbourhood of Mezzeh on Wednesday, stopping people at random and checking their ID cards, activists said.
Syrian authorities have repeatedly blamed "armed terrorist groups," allegedly financed by Arab and foreign powers, for the violence that has entered its 12th month in the country.