Mideast Lebanon Syria
Lebanese army soldiers take their position at the Lebanese-Syrian border near the western Syrian village of Talkalakh, in the Wadi Khaled area, abo...
Lebanese army soldiers take their position at the Lebanese-Syrian border near the western Syrian village of Talkalakh, in the Wadi Khaled area, about one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Lebanon-Syria border, north Lebanon, on Monday May 16, 2011. Carrying mattresses and bags of clothing, Syrians fleeing their homeland described a "catastrophic" scene Monday in a besieged border town that has been largely sealed off as the army tries to crush a two-month uprising. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Mideast Lebanon Syria
Syrian Woman Mounira Ahmad, center, sits between her daughters speaks to the Associated Press after she fled last Friday from violence from the weste...
Syrian Woman Mounira Ahmad, center, sits between her daughters speaks to the Associated Press after she fled last Friday from violence from the western Syrian village of Talkalakh , in the Wadi Khaled area, about one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Lebanon-Syria border, north Lebanon, on Monday May 16, 2011. Carrying mattresses and bags of clothing, Syrians fleeing their homeland described a "catastrophic" scene Monday in a besieged border town that has been largely sealed off as the army tries to crush a two-month uprising. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
CORRECTION Mideast Lebanon Syria
Syrian citizens who fled from violence from the western Syrian villages along the Lebanese-Syrian border, protest as they shout slogans against Bash...
Syrian citizens who fled from violence from the western Syrian villages along the Lebanese-Syrian border, protest as they shout slogans against Bashar Assad and his regime, in the Wadi Khaled area, about one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Lebanon-Syria border, north Lebanon, on Monday May 16, 2011. Carrying mattresses and bags of clothing, Syrians fleeing their homeland described a "catastrophic" scene Monday in a besieged border town that has been largely sealed off as the army tries to crush a two-month uprising. (AP Photo)
Mideast Lebanon Syria
Syrian citizens who fled from violence from the western Syrian villages along the Lebanese-Syrian border, protest as they shout slogans against Basha...
Syrian citizens who fled from violence from the western Syrian villages along the Lebanese-Syrian border, protest as they shout slogans against Bashar Assad and his regime, in the Wadi Khaled area, about one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Lebanon-Syria border, north Lebanon, on Monday May 16, 2011. Carrying mattresses and bags of clothing, Syrians fleeing their homeland described a "catastrophic" scene Monday in a besieged border town that has been largely sealed off as the army tries to crush a two-month uprising. (AP Photo)
Mideast Lebanon Syria
Two Syrian men carry their belongings, to cross the border illegally through the river, as they flee from violence in Talkalakh in west Syria, in the...
Two Syrian men carry their belongings, to cross the border illegally through the river, as they flee from violence in Talkalakh in west Syria, in the Wadi Khaled area, about one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Lebanon-Syria border, north Lebanon, Monday May 16, 2011. Carrying mattresses and bags of clothing, Syrians fleeing their homeland described a "catastrophic" scene Monday in a besieged border town that has been largely sealed off as the army tries to crush a two-month uprising. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Mideast Lebanon Syria
Syrian citizens carry their belongings, as they cross the border illegally , fleeing from violence the western Syrian village of Talkalakh, in the Wa...
Syrian citizens carry their belongings, as they cross the border illegally , fleeing from violence the western Syrian village of Talkalakh, in the Wadi Khaled area, about one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Lebanon-Syria border, north Lebanon, Monday May 16, 2011. Carrying mattresses and bags of clothing, Syrians fleeing their homeland described a "catastrophic" scene Monday in a besieged border town that has been largely sealed off as the army tries to crush a two-month uprising. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
APTOPIX Mideast Lebanon Syria
A Syrian man, foreground, rides his horse as other Syrians in the background carry their belongings across the border, fleeing from violence from the...
A Syrian man, foreground, rides his horse as other Syrians in the background carry their belongings across the border, fleeing from violence from the western Syrian village of Talkalakh, in the Wadi Khaled area, about one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Lebanon-Syria border, north Lebanon, Monday May 16, 2011. Carrying mattresses and bags of clothing, Syrians fleeing their homeland described a "catastrophic" scene Monday in a besieged border town that has been largely sealed off as the army tries to crush a two-month uprising. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Mideast Lebanon Syria
Syrian citizens ride their horses with their belongings, as they cross the border, fleeing from violence in Talkalakh in western Syria, in the Wadi K...
Syrian citizens ride their horses with their belongings, as they cross the border, fleeing from violence in Talkalakh in western Syria, in the Wadi Khaled area, about one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Lebanon-Syria border, north Lebanon, Monday May 16, 2011. Carrying mattresses and bags of clothing, Syrians fleeing their homeland described a "catastrophic" scene Monday in a besieged border town that has been largely sealed off as the army tries to crush a two-month uprising. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Syria's president says the country's security forces have made mistakes during the uprising against his regime and that thousands of police officers are receiving new training.
Assad's comments were carried by the private Al-Watan daily on Wednesday. They came as a human rights activist said Syrian troops have used heavy machine-guns to bomb a neighborhood in the central city of Homs.
Mustafa Osso said the bombing of Bab Amr district took place early Wednesday.
Syria's top rights organization has said that the crackdown by Assad has killed more than 850 people since the protests erupted in mid-March.
The latest place to see a harsh crackdown on dissent is the western town of Talkalakh. Activists say 27 people have been killed there since last week.
