This is an undated photo provided late Sunday Dec. 4, 2011 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, which they claim shows Syrian soldiers kneeling next to a multiple rocket launcher as they fire missiles during a maneuver at an unknown location, in Syria. Syria's state-run media say the country's military has held war games during which the army test-fired missiles and the air force and ground troops conducted operations "similar to a real battle." The maneuvers come as Syria is under Arab and international pressure to end a crackdown on an eight-month uprising that the U.N. says has killed more than 4,000 people. State TV said Monday the exercise was meant to test "the capabilities and readiness of missile systems to respond to any possible aggression." It says the war games were held on Sunday. (AP Photo/SANA) EDITORIAL USE ONLY
This is an undated photo provided late Sunday Dec. 4, 2011 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, which they claim shows Syrian soldiers kneeling next to a multiple rocket launcher as they fire missiles during a maneuver at an unknown location, in Syria. Syria's state-run media say the country's military has held war games during which the army test-fired missiles and the air force and ground troops conducted operations "similar to a real battle." The maneuvers come as Syria is under Arab and international pressure to end a crackdown on an eight-month uprising that the U.N. says has killed more than 4,000 people. State TV said Monday the exercise was meant to test "the capabilities and readiness of missile systems to respond to any possible aggression." It says the war games were held on Sunday. (AP Photo/SANA) EDITORIAL USE ONLY
FILE - Friday, Sept. 23, 2011 file citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and provide by Homs Quarters Union, anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the Syrian regime, in Homs province, Syria. The Arabic banner in the center background reads: "A no-fly zone opens the door for the free soldiers of the Syrian army to defect." Nearly nine months into the Syrian uprising, many protesters are pinning their hopes on an increasingly bold group of army defectors to give the revolution a fighting chance. But the Free Syrian Army could make it harder for the West to give strong diplomatic support to the opposition, while giving the regime a pretext crush every sign of dissent.(AP Photo/Homs Quarters Union,File) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO
BEIRUT (AP) ? A surge in violence in the restive Syrian city of Homs has killed up to 50 people in the past 24 hours, leaving dozens of bodies in the streets, activists said Tuesday.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted witnesses as saying 34 bodies were dumped in the streets of Homs on Monday night. Homs-based activist Mohammed Saleh said there was a spate of kidnappings and killings in the city earlier Monday.
Homs and other areas have seen an increasing number of tit-for-tat attacks pitting majority Sunnis against members of President Bashar Assad's minority Alawite sect, fearsome violence that evokes the seething conflicts that have bedeviled neighboring Iraq and Lebanon.
"It was an insane escalation," Saleh told The Associated Press by telephone from Homs after Monday's violence. "There were kidnappings and killings in a mad way. People are afraid to go out of their homes."
The activists' reports could not be independently confirmed. Syria has banned most foreign journalists and prevents the work of independent media.
Also Tuesday, Syria said it blocked 35 "armed terrorists" from entering the country after a clash along the border with Turkey. The state-run news service said several of the gunmen were wounded and the group fled back into Turkish territory.
The head of a growing group of Syrian army defectors is based in Turkey. The group is believed to be smuggling weapons and fighters into the country through the border.
For nearly nine months, the Syrian government has been trying to crush an uprising against President Assad. But there are growing signs of an armed insurgency and mounting sectarian tensions that could push the country toward civil war.
Homs has emerged as the epicenter of the uprising, and the government has laid siege to the city for months.
The United States, meanwhile, said it was sending its ambassador back to Syria in part to serve as a witness to the violence there and to meet with opposition figures. A senior Obama administration official said Ambassador Robert Ford was due to return Tuesday. He had been recalled on Oct. 22 amid the worsening violence.
The official commented on grounds of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
On Monday, Syria said it would agree to allow Arab League observers into the country as part of a plan to end the bloodshed, but placed a number of conditions, including the cancellation of deeply embarrassing economic sanctions by the 22-member organization.
Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby swiftly rebuffed Damascus' demands, and the Syrian opposition accused Assad's regime of wasting time and trying to trick Arab leaders into reversing punitive measures against Damascus.
"Any announcements made by the Syrian regime while the military crackdown continues has for us zero credibility," said Bassma Kodmani, a spokeswoman for the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group.
Syria has already failed to meet several Arab League ultimatums to end the crackdown, which the U.N. says has killed more than 4,000 people since the uprising against Assad erupted in March.
Damascus' failure to meet a Nov. 25 deadline to allow in observers drew Arab League sanctions, including a ban on dealings with the country's central bank and a freeze on government assets. The bloc also imposed a travel ban on 19 Syrian officials, including Assad's younger brother Maher, who is believed to be in command of much of the crackdown, as well as Cabinet ministers, intelligence chiefs and security officers.
The sanctions dealt a big blow to a regime that sees itself as a powerhouse of Arab nationalism.
Combined with sanctions from the United States, the European Union and Turkey, the Arab League's penalties are expected to inflict significant damage on Syria's economy and may undercut the regime's authority.
Damascus remains defiant, however, and has shown few signs of easing its crackdown.
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Associated Press writers Anne Gearan in Geneva and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
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