Syrian state TV has broadcast new images from inside the besieged city of Hama, showing rubble-strewn streets and wrecked buildings.
The news report said Syrian troops had put down an armed rebellion.But Hama residents and rights groups say the army has been bombarding the city, killing more than 100 civilians.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused security forces of killing some 2,000 people since anti-government protests began in March.
Activists have called for more protests after prayers on Friday, with one web user posting a message saying: "God is with us, are you?"
Residents of Hama, which has become a focal point of protests, told reporters that there had been more gunfire and shelling early on Friday.
Snipers and tanks have been firing on civilians and food and medicine supplies are running low, witnesses say.
However, the Syrian TV report showed pictures of armed men hiding behind cars and claimed the army had quelled a rebellion.
The report showed deserted streets with flimsy barricades and piles of rubble. Later, the reporter went into buildings that appeared to have been destroyed in an explosion.
President Bashar al-Assad and his ministers have consistently blamed the current violence on "armed criminal gangs" backed by unspecified foreign powers.
City cut off On Thursday, Mrs Clinton reiterated that the US believed Mr Assad had lost legitimacy.
"We've seen the Assad regime continue and intensify its assault against its own people this week," she said.
"We think to date the government is responsible for the deaths of more than 2,000 people of all ages."
The UN Security Council issued a statement earlier in the week condemning the crackdown.
Russia, traditionally an ally of Syria, also joined the criticism, with President Dmitry Medvedev saying Mr Assad would "face a sad fate" unless he urgently carried out reforms and reconciled with the opposition.
The BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says there has been an embarrassed silence in state-controlled media - with the UN Security Council statement not even reported.
Our correspondent says Mr Medvedev's statement may gave the regime pause for thought, but that there has been no change in the attitude on the ground.
Dozens of people are believed to have been killed in a five-day military assault on Hama, with residents saying on Thursday that tanks had shot their way into Assi (Orontes) Square, in the centre of the city of 800,000 people.
Activists said as many as 30 more people were killed in Hama late on Wednesday, after Ramadan prayers.
Communication with the city is all but completely cut off, as are water and electricity, correspondents say.
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