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In Homs, troops backed by tanks "deployed heavily in Duar al-Fakhura and around the neighbourhood of Al-Nazihin," said Abdel Karim Rihawi, who heads the Syrian League for the Defence of Human Rights.
He said the army could be "preparing to carry out a military and security operation in the region."
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported a new military deployment in Homs, quoting an activist in the central city.
"Eight tanks entered the city from the Duar al-Jawwiya area and deployed in the streets linking Al-Khalidiyeh" neighbourhood to two others in the area, the Observatory said in a statement received by AFP in Nicosia.
It also said security forces made arrests in the village of Al-Sokhna east of Homs.
More than 50 people have been killed in the past week in Homs, activists have said, accusing the regime of sowing sectarian strife among the city's Christians, Sunni Muslims and Assad's Alawite minority community.
Residents of Homs, Syria's third city, observed a strike on Saturday while the army encircled the city, cutting off its water and electricity.
Homs has spearheaded demonstrations against Assad and his regime since protests erupted on March 15.
The army had already entered the city in May to stop rallies calling for the fall of the regime, and launched a new operation earlier this week.
The crackdown on dissent prompted condemnations on Friday from France and Britain as UN officials spoke of the possibility of crimes against humanity being committed in Syria.
In Damascus, security forces arrested hundreds of people in the neighbourhoods of Qabun and Rukneddin, which has a mostly Kurdish population, Rihawi told AFP in Nicosia by phone.
"Army units set up roadblocks on routes into Qabun, controlling all entry and exit," he said, adding that they had lists of wanted people.
Syrian Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said: "Soldiers armed with automatic rifles are deployed at the main routes into Qabun and in front of mosques.
"The security forces also searched homes looking for weapons, and made some arrests," he said, adding that they ransacked homes but emerged empty-handed.
More than 15 people were arrested in the northwestern town of Sarakeb after residents blocked a strategic highway linking Syria's second city Aleppo to Damascus, Abdel Rahman told AFP in Nicosia by phone.
"Army units who are deployed on the outskirts of the town opened fire to disperse the residents of Sarakeb who had gathered to cut off the highway that links Aleppo to Damascus," he said.
"The security forces reopened the highway and then made arrests in the town, rounding up more than 15 people," he said.
Forty-eight hours after Friday's massive anti-regime protests in the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor, Assad dismissed the regional governor, the official SANA news agency reported on Sunday.
He issued a decree appointing Samir Othman al-Sheikh to replace Hussein Arnoos as governor, the agency said.
More than 1.2 million Syrians demonstrated in Deir Ezzor city and in Hama in the north on Friday, according to Abdel Rahman, with more than 550,000 marching in Deir Ezzor, a major centre of anti-regime protests.
Earlier in July, Assad replaced the governor of Hama after 500,000 protesters rallied there on a Friday calling for the fall of the regime.
According to the Syrian Observatory, 1,483 civilians are now confirmed dead in the government crackdown on dissent since mid-March. The violence has also claimed the lives of 365 troops and security forces.
In that time, at least 12,000 people have been arrested and thousands have fled to neighbouring Turkey and Lebanon, rights groups say.
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He said the army could be "preparing to carry out a military and security operation in the region."
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported a new military deployment in Homs, quoting an activist in the central city.
"Eight tanks entered the city from the Duar al-Jawwiya area and deployed in the streets linking Al-Khalidiyeh" neighbourhood to two others in the area, the Observatory said in a statement received by AFP in Nicosia.
It also said security forces made arrests in the village of Al-Sokhna east of Homs.
More than 50 people have been killed in the past week in Homs, activists have said, accusing the regime of sowing sectarian strife among the city's Christians, Sunni Muslims and Assad's Alawite minority community.
Residents of Homs, Syria's third city, observed a strike on Saturday while the army encircled the city, cutting off its water and electricity.
Homs has spearheaded demonstrations against Assad and his regime since protests erupted on March 15.
The army had already entered the city in May to stop rallies calling for the fall of the regime, and launched a new operation earlier this week.
The crackdown on dissent prompted condemnations on Friday from France and Britain as UN officials spoke of the possibility of crimes against humanity being committed in Syria.
In Damascus, security forces arrested hundreds of people in the neighbourhoods of Qabun and Rukneddin, which has a mostly Kurdish population, Rihawi told AFP in Nicosia by phone.
"Army units set up roadblocks on routes into Qabun, controlling all entry and exit," he said, adding that they had lists of wanted people.
Syrian Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said: "Soldiers armed with automatic rifles are deployed at the main routes into Qabun and in front of mosques.
"The security forces also searched homes looking for weapons, and made some arrests," he said, adding that they ransacked homes but emerged empty-handed.
More than 15 people were arrested in the northwestern town of Sarakeb after residents blocked a strategic highway linking Syria's second city Aleppo to Damascus, Abdel Rahman told AFP in Nicosia by phone.
"Army units who are deployed on the outskirts of the town opened fire to disperse the residents of Sarakeb who had gathered to cut off the highway that links Aleppo to Damascus," he said.
"The security forces reopened the highway and then made arrests in the town, rounding up more than 15 people," he said.
Forty-eight hours after Friday's massive anti-regime protests in the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor, Assad dismissed the regional governor, the official SANA news agency reported on Sunday.
He issued a decree appointing Samir Othman al-Sheikh to replace Hussein Arnoos as governor, the agency said.
More than 1.2 million Syrians demonstrated in Deir Ezzor city and in Hama in the north on Friday, according to Abdel Rahman, with more than 550,000 marching in Deir Ezzor, a major centre of anti-regime protests.
Earlier in July, Assad replaced the governor of Hama after 500,000 protesters rallied there on a Friday calling for the fall of the regime.
According to the Syrian Observatory, 1,483 civilians are now confirmed dead in the government crackdown on dissent since mid-March. The violence has also claimed the lives of 365 troops and security forces.
In that time, at least 12,000 people have been arrested and thousands have fled to neighbouring Turkey and Lebanon, rights groups say.
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