It was one of the highest daily death tolls in the large central Syrian city that has seen some of the most extensive protests in a tide of unrest where protesters are demanding an end to 41 years of repressive Assad family rule.

The clashes on Monday followed the deployment of loyalist militiamen in Sunni Muslim districts, fanning tension between the city's Sunni majority and members of Assad's minority Alawite sect, residents told Reuters by telephone.

Mindful of the threat of civil war in Syria, which straddles major fault lines of Middle East conflict, the Arab League offered on Sunday to host talks in Cairo between the opposition, who have formed a National Council, and the Damascus leadership.

But Syria's representative to the League said Syria had major reservations about the offer, while the opposition Syrian National Council said it could not engage in talks while Assad's military continued to storm restive cities and towns.

In Homs, 140 km (90 miles) north of Damascus, tanks firing heavy machineguns swept into Sunni districts of Bab Sbaa, Bab Dreib and Bab Amro where large protests demanding the removal of Assad have taken place regularly, residents and activists said.

Reuters