Arab League diplomats are meeting in Egypt on Saturday to consider sanctions against Syria, after Damascus missed a deadline to agree on allowing international monitors to enter the country.

The Syrian government and diplomats say the 22-member league is considering penalties that include halting Arab flights into Syria and a freeze on trade and banking exchanges.

The league suspended Syria's membership earlier this month after Damascus failed to implement a plan designed to end the government's violent crackdown on dissent.

Activists say at least 27 people were killed in anti-government-related unrest on Friday, including at least 10 security force members who died in clashes with army deserters.

For months, protesters have been taking to the streets and demanding President Bashar al-Assad's resignation.

The United Nations says more than 3,500 people have been killed since March in connection to the opposition protests.

On Friday, the U.N. Committee against Torture said it had received reports of widespread abuses in Syria, including the torture of children detained by security forces.

The state-run SANA news agency says “mass crowds” of government supporters rallied in the city of Lattakia, on Saturday, to voice their rejection of Arab League resolutions against Syria.