Syrian activists say more than 30 people were killed in violence across Syria on October 9.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven civilians were killed in the central city of Homs, a flashpoint of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
Another seven were killed in other towns when security forces fired at antiregime protests.
The group said 17 military personnel were killed the same day in clashes with deserters who refused orders to shoot on protesters.
Syrian state-run television said that 17 security personnel had been killed and a number of others were wounded by what it described as "armed gangs" in the provinces of Hama, Homs, and Idlib.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, meanwhile, said today the bloc is moving to widen its sanctions against Syria because of the continuing repression in the country.
The United Nations estimates that more than 2,900 people have been killed since protests against Assad's regime began in March.
compiled from agency reports