European governments apply diplomatic pressure in attempt to stem violence believed to have left at least 450 dead
Dozens of tanks have been reported to be en route to Deraa, the Syrian city at the centre of protests against President Bashar al-Assad, as a series of EU nations protested at the increasingly bloody government crackdown that is now believed to have killed more than 450 people.
Deraa remained largely cut off to outside communications but sources reported gunfire again on Wednesday. Amnesty International quoted eyewitnesses who said army snipers were shooting at injured people on the streets and those who tried to reach them.
Witnesses reported seeing a convoy of at least 30 army tanks leave an area near the Golan Heights front line with Israel and head south, apparently towards Deraa, where the protests against Assad's authoritarian regime began six weeks ago.
In an apparent toughening of the official response to the dissent, activists reported an increased security presence in the Damascus suburbs of Douma and Harasta and the coastal city of Banias, and a wave of arrests in towns including Tartous, Harasta and al-Tel. On Tuesday night hundreds of soldiers arrived in full combat gear in Douma.
Residents in Deraa are now reportedly lacking basic services such as water and bread. "They are using a military operation to build the wall of fear again," said Wissam Tarif, executive director of the Syrian human rights group Insan. "They are saying: 'We can use the army'. It is scary to see a city totally cut off and the military invading."
According to Insan, at least 25 people died on Monday and Tuesday in Deraa, with reports of a further six early on Wednesday. Human rights groups say the total death toll since 18 March has risen to more than 450.
There is rising concern over the situation at Deraa's Omari mosque, which has been turned into a field hospital where medical supplies are believed to be running low.
Despite the intensifying crackdown, activists pledged to turn out again on Friday – traditionally the biggest day for protests – in the wake of demonstrations which activists said took place in 17 different cities on Tuesday night.
Several EU governments summoned Syrian ambassadors for a dressing down on Wednesday, pushed into action by the rising death toll as well as criticisms that the international community has dragged its feet over Syria while focusing on Libya.
The UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain told the ambassadors they condemned the violence and that Assad must end the crackdown.
The foreign secretary, William Hague, told BBC Radio 4 that there was "a major diplomatic effort going on" to make sure Assad's regime changed course. "President Assad has made two major speeches on reform in Syria," he said. "It is not too late for him to say he is really going to do these reforms, and additional reforms."
Separately, the UN human rights council has agreed to a US request for a special session on Friday about the situation in Syria.
The diplomatic pressure has had no immediate impact on the official line, which has seen Assad blame the unrest on a "foreign conspiracy" and armed thugs. Of the latest crackdown the country's state news agency, Sana, said: "Army units in Deraa and the countryside carried on their duty in hunting the terrorist groups which had targeted military sites and security personnel."
There are, however, signs that a previously fragmented opposition movement is beginning to coalesce. On Wednesday, a new umbrella opposition alliance called the Syrian National Initiative for Change called on the army to protect people, boosted by reports of defections.
The Guardian saw the names of some of the 150 signatories to the statement, many of whose identities were not publicly released. These suggest the group is a fairly weighty coalition involving a range of prominent figures, including those from the secular, Kurdish and Islamist communities. Exiled signatories include Ammar Abdulhamid, the veteran US-based Syrian rights activist.
Syrian protesters and activists have welcomed growing criticism of the Assad regime from the international community, but they are angered at the silence of Arab states and say concrete action needs to be taken quickly.
"We want the president and the regime to be referred to the international criminal court," said one human rights monitor in the capital.
Radwan Ziadeh, the US-based head of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights, and another signatory of the new opposition group, said he wanted immediate sanctions, the freezing of assets and travel bans on all those responsible for opening fire on protesters. "This is the only way to protect the people," he told the Guardian.
Activists in Damascus are keen to emphasise that, while they are seeking further international condemnation of the Syrian regime and legal measures to be taken against it, they do not want military intervention.
Katherine Marsh is a pseudonym for a journalist living in Damascus