"We are organising joint patrols and operations such as house arrests and searches, " he said.

BBC: NEWS | UK | England | Cambridgeshire | Army patrols Iraqi fishing town

Three days later, Assad's security services started rounding them up in house-to-house arrests.

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Monday's violence included house-to-house raids and arrests in Daraa and "very intense shelling" in Homs, with helicopters flying overhead, the LCC said.

CNN: Russia suspends new arms shipments to Syria