Beirut: The Syrian army shelled residential areas in central Syria on Wednesday, a sharp escalation in the government's attempts to crush a popular revolt against President Bashar Assad's rule, according to activists and witnesses.
Heavy gunfire was heard as at least three residential neighborhoods were hit by tank fire in the besieged city of Homs, which has seen some of the largest anti-government demonstrations in recent weeks.
"There were loud explosions and gunfire from automatic rifles throughout the night and until this morning," said a terrified resident. "The area is totally besieged, we are being shelled," he told The Associated Press by telephone.
Activists in Damascus who were in touch with residents also reported shelling in Homs, Syria's third largest city and home to one of the country's two oil refineries.
The witnesses and activists, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals, said the shelling was targeting the Bab Sbaa, Bab Amr and Jouret el Aris neighbourhoods.
Syrian authorities are determined to crush the uprising that began in the southern Syrian city of Daraa in mid-March. Assad has dispatched army troops backed by tanks to Homs and other cities and villages across the country.
Activists said three protesters were killed when government forces fired on demonstrations late Tuesday in Jassem, one of a cluster of villages near Daraa.
The government's heavy-handed response has triggered new international sanctions.
The European Union has decided to impose sanctions on 13 Syrian officials, prohibiting them from traveling anywhere in the 27-nation bloc.
US sanctions target the assets of two Assad relatives and another top Syrian official. But neither EU nor US sanctions affect Assad himself.
