1000 arrests in new Syrian security sweep

A leading human rights activist says Syrian authorities have arrested more than 1,000 pro-democracy sympathisers in their latest security sweep.

Ammar Qurabi is the head of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.

He says his group has documented around 1,000 names of people who were detained across Syrian provinces in door-to-door raids since Saturday. Qurabi said on Tuesday that many other people have been reported missing.

The arrests came in the wake of the shelling of Deraa, cradle of the unrest, by a force led by President Bashar al-Assad's feared brother Maher.

President Assad is determined to crush the six-week-old revolt against his authoritarian regime.

Over the past week, he has intensified a campaign of intimidation to quell the unrest. He also has sent soldiers and tanks to trouble spots.

-AP