Mideast Syria
Syrian shoppers walk next to a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad with Arabic words read:"Congratulation for Syrian people," at the popular ma...
Syrian shoppers walk next to a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad with Arabic words read:"Congratulation for Syrian people," at the popular market of Hamidiyeh, in the old city of Damascus, Syria, on Saturday Sept. 3, 2011. Activists say Syrian security forces cracking down on a growing uprising have killed two people after storming a northern village. The security raid is part of operations to crush almost six months of demonstrations against the country's authoritarian leadership. The U.N. estimates some 2,200 Syrians have been killed since March. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)
Mideast Iran
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad briefs the media, prior to departing Tehran's Mehrabad airport for a trip to Tajikistan, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011....
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad briefs the media, prior to departing Tehran's Mehrabad airport for a trip to Tajikistan, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Mideast Libya Gadhafis Reach
FILE - In this Saturday, March 29, 2008 file photo, Front, from left, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Syrian Presid...
FILE - In this Saturday, March 29, 2008 file photo, Front, from left, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Syrian President Bashar Assad, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, stand during the opening session of the Arab Summit in Damascus, Syria. Moammar Gadhafi's dictatorship couldn't have existed without a sea of dictators all around, protecting each other and working together to silence dissident voices. Gadhafi himself saw collapse was inevitable once allies began to fall. He told fellow leaders at a 2008 Arab League summit "your turn is next," following the toppling of Iraq's Saddam Hussein. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)
Syrian security forces are keeping up a fierce assault on dissent as the embattled regime faces surprising calls for an end to the violence from its strongest ally, Iran.
Activists said there were reports of machine-gun fire and explosions as military vehicles stormed an area near the Turkish border Thursday.
President Bashar Assad's crackdown on the 6-month-old uprising has left the regime increasingly isolated.
Late on Wednesday, Syrian ally Iran joined the international chorus of criticism.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Assad should back away from his violent crackdown and talk to the opposition.
Ahmadinejad's comments to Portugal's Radiotelevisao Portuguesa, were broadcast with a simultaneous Portuguese translation.
