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Syrian security forces sealed off the coastal city of Banias following pro-democracy protests and killings by irregulars loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, witnesses said on Monday.
In the capital, students demonstrated at Damascus University's science college, students on the campus said.
One activist said he received text messages saying security forces had killed one student and surrounded the campus. A pro-government Facebook page said security forces "took control of the security breach," adding that there were no casualties.
Syria's universities are controlled through branches of the ruling Baath Party on campuses. A video on the YouTube website showed a crowd of students coming out of Damascus University building while chanting "God, Syria, freedom." A witness said Assad loyalists shouted "U.S. agents" at them.
Assad, facing unprecedented protests against his 11-year-old rule, has responded with a mixture of force and promises to move toward reform, including a possible lifting of nearly five decades of emergency law.
Violence in Banias, home to one of Syria's two oil refineries, erupted on Sunday when irregulars from the ruling Alawite minority, known as "shabbiha," fired at residents with automatic rifles from speeding cars, the witnesses said.
Four people were killed in the mostly Sunni Muslim city on the Mediterranean coast, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Authorities said an armed group had ambushed a patrol near Banias, killing nine soldiers.
In the capital, students demonstrated at Damascus University's science college, students on the campus said.
One activist said he received text messages saying security forces had killed one student and surrounded the campus. A pro-government Facebook page said security forces "took control of the security breach," adding that there were no casualties.
Syria's universities are controlled through branches of the ruling Baath Party on campuses. A video on the YouTube website showed a crowd of students coming out of Damascus University building while chanting "God, Syria, freedom." A witness said Assad loyalists shouted "U.S. agents" at them.
Assad, facing unprecedented protests against his 11-year-old rule, has responded with a mixture of force and promises to move toward reform, including a possible lifting of nearly five decades of emergency law.
Violence in Banias, home to one of Syria's two oil refineries, erupted on Sunday when irregulars from the ruling Alawite minority, known as "shabbiha," fired at residents with automatic rifles from speeding cars, the witnesses said.
Four people were killed in the mostly Sunni Muslim city on the Mediterranean coast, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Authorities said an armed group had ambushed a patrol near Banias, killing nine soldiers.