A Syrian army colonel who fled to Turkey has called for a united front against President Bashar Assad's regime, the Anatolia news agency reported on Tuesday.

"Opponent forces in Syria should get united and close ranks until the regime collapses," colonel Riad al-Asaad, who is currently taking refuge in Turkey, told the news agency.

Russia hit out on Tuesday at a U.N. resolution proposed by European nations that condemns Syria's deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests, describing it as "unacceptable."

Britain, France, Germany and Portugal had dropped the word "sanctions" from their draft text in a bid to win over members of the U.N. Security Council, but it was not enough to avoid opposition from veto-wielding Russia.

Speaker Nabih Berri criticized on Tuesday the international community’s “double standards” in dealing with Israel, accusing it of having hidden agendas in the Middle East.

He said before the Armenian parliament: “International decision-makers are placing all Arab regimes in the position of the accused in order to subject them to their will.”

European nations were to seek a vote on Tuesday on a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Syria's crackdown on protests.

Britain, France, Germany and Portugal dropped the word "sanctions" from their draft text in a bid to win over council opponents but diplomats said it was unclear whether it would be enough to avoid a Russian veto.

Syrian embassy officials have been systematically harassing emigre dissidents in a bid to silence their protests against the government's crackdown, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

The London-based watchdog said it had documented cases involving more than 30 activists in eight countries -- Britain, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the United States.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati denied on Tuesday that he visited Damascus earlier in Sept. ahead of his visit to Paris to join the "Friends of Libya" conference.

Miqati’s press office said in a statement that this report is false, noting that all the PM’s visits are official and declared “according to principles.”

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday moved to block the sale of telecommunications equipment to Syria, the latest in a series of sanctions aimed at isolating Bashar al-Assad's regime.

According to a Treasury document signed on Monday, U.S. firms will now be barred from selling the Syrian government, or anyone in the country, telecoms equipment or technology, "including satellite or terrestrial network connectivity."

It is "a matter of time" before the Syrian regime headed by President Bashar al-Assad is ousted from power by a popular uprising, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Monday.

Speaking in Tel Aviv after meeting his Israeli counterpart, Panetta said Washington and other foreign capitals had "made clear Assad should step down."

Syrian troops going house to house have detained more than 3,000 people in the past three days in a rebellious town that government forces recently retook in some of the worst fighting since the country's uprising began six months ago, an activist said Monday.

Also, a member of Syria's outgoing parliament dismissed a broad-based national council set up by the opposition, saying it will not be able to overthrow President Bashar Assad's regime. Khaled Abboud told The Associated Press that those who announced the formation of the council in Istanbul a day earlier are "deluding themselves."

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on Sunday that Syria’s Lebanese allies are sensing that the Syrian regime will be overthrown, and they are therefore now, contrary to their usual practices, calling for dialogue.

He said: “They are living in a state of confusion and are trying to take all possible measures to save themselves should the regime be toppled.