Tens of thousands of Syrians are rallying in support of the government in the northern city of Aleppo, while Syrian activists say at least six people have been killed during unrest in other parts of the country.

The rally Wednesday in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad comes a week after a similar rally in the capital, Damascus. Aleppo is Syria's commercial center.

Meanwhile, activists say pro-Assad gunmen called “shabiha” killed at least four people in the opposition stronghold of Homs Wednesday. More than 25 people have been killed during unrest in the Homs region over the past three days.

Clashes in a town closer to the Lebanese border killed at least two other people on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Mr. Assad to end the killings of civilians and accept an international inquiry into allegations of human rights abuses.

The United Nations says more than 3,000 people have been killed during the government crackdown since anti-Assad protests began in Syria seven months ago.

Syrian authorities have blamed much of the country's violence on gunmen or what they call terrorist groups.