Jordanians have rallied in a border town near Deraa as tanks and troops sealed off the area Syrian security forces killed 10 people and arrested 499 others in house-to-house raids in Deraa on Sunday, an army spokesman has said.
Residents said men aged between 15 and 40 were being arrested, handcuffed and bussed to a detention centre.Later, police broke up a protest by a group of women in the capital Damascus.
Rights groups say 560 people have been killed across the country in protests against the repressive rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
Last week the army used tanks to take control of Deraa, the city at the heart of the unrest.
On Sunday, British Prime Minister David Cameron denounced the "disgraceful" crackdown against pro-democracy protests which began six weeks ago, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.
The US last week blocked the assets of a number of top Syrian officials as well as Mr Assad's brother, Maher, who commands the Syrian army's feared Fourth Division.
'Hooded detainees' Residents of Deraa told Reuters news agency they had seen packed busloads of handcuffed and hooded young men being taken in the direction of a large detention centre in the city run by the security services.
"They are arresting all males above 15 years [old]. They only have old security tactics and they are acting on revenge," said a prominent lawyer in Deraa who did not want to be identified further.
The raids come after the army seized control of Deraa's Omari mosque, which had become a centre for anti-government protests in the city.Continued
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