Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is scheduled to appear on national television Sunday night, amid global pressure to end a government crackdown on protesters.

Syrian TV said it will broadcast a rare interview with Mr. Assad about the situation in the country. The station said the president also will discuss the process for political reforms and the political and economic implications of Western pressures on Syria.

Mr. Assad has pushed ahead with his crackdown despite assurances to the U.N. chief last week that military operations have ended. A U.N. team in Damascus started assessing citizens' humanitarian needs Sunday in the wake of the government's violent repression.

The United States, the European Union and several other Western powers have said that Mr. Assad must go.

Syrian security forces killed at least two people Saturday in the central province of Homs. The deaths happened a day after Syrian forces killed at least 34 people across the country.

The military offensive also has focused on the coastal city of Latakia, the eastern city of Deir el-Zour and the central flashpoint city of Hama.

The U.N.'s human rights office said last week that Mr. Assad's forces have carried out widespread and systematic attacks on civilians that may amount to crimes against humanity.

U.N. Human Rights chief Navi Pillay told the Security Council it should refer the situation in Syria to the Hague-based International Criminal Court.