A Syrian military crackdown against anti-government dissent is in its third day in the coastal city of Latakia while troops are carrying out new raids in the central province of Homs.

Tank fire has been reported in several neighborhoods of Latakia and witnesses say residents are trying to flee the city.

Syrian rights activists say the security forces have killed at least 27 people in Latakia since Saturday, including one man on Monday.

Activists and witnesses say Syrian naval vessels fired on the city Sunday while troops in tanks and vehicles mounted with machine guns also fired on coastal areas.

Latakia is one of the Syrian cities that has been the scene of large protests demanding the resignation of President Hafez al-Assad.

Meanwhile, activists say troops backed by tanks are also carrying out raids and arrests Monday in the town of Houla, near the flashpoint city of Homs.

The Syrian government has offered a different account of events in Latakia. Officials deny that Latakia was shelled from the sea. They say the naval vessels were on “routine duty” to prevent arms smuggling. And the state-run news agency reported Sunday that law enforcement personnel were pursuing gunmen who it said were terrifying residents of the city.

The Syrian government has blamed much of the country's deadly unrest on “armed groups” and “terrorists.”

President Assad has been facing growing international condemnation for the crackdown on civilian protesters, and the United Nations Security Council is planning to meet Thursday to consider further action against the Syrian government.

Details of events in Syria are difficult to independently verify because the government allows very few foreign news reporters into the country and restricts their movements.

Rights groups and activists say at least 1,700 people have been killed since the start of the government's crackdown.