As Syria's war rages, Assad bans military-age men from leaving

"The majority of the people have absolutely nothing to do with the fighting," he added. "What do they do?"

Rising death toll

The fighting in Syria, which pits the lightly armed rebels against the Russian- and Iranian-supplied Syrian military has taken a heavy toll on civilians. The United Nations says more than 8,000 have been killed since demonstrations against al-Assad began last March. Anti-government activists put the number at more than 10,000.

Anti-government activists posted video during the weekend of shelling and rocket attacks by government forces, as well as a field hospital they said was full of those wounded by the government forces' shelling.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees last week called for nations to donate enough aid to meet the basic needs of up to 100,000 Syrians who might potentially flee to neighboring Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Tens of thousands have already fled, and many already are dependent on non-governmental aid provided by local groups in neighboring countries.

The UNHCR call did not include the aid necessary to meet the needs of an estimated quarter million Syrians displaced inside the country.

The official Syrian news agency SANA on Monday reported that the army had intercepted rebels who were planning to destroy a bridge linking the southern city of Daraa to the capital, Damascus. Destruction of the bridge would have cut the road between the two cities, and would have exacerbated the decline of Syria's already faltering economy; the road is a major overland trade route to Jordan.

"Syria is the path to eastern Europe, to Turkey," said Jamil Nimri, a member of parliament in Jordan, Syria's neighbor to the south.

So far, Jordan has walked a fine line, refusing to support the rebels openly while giving shelter to tens of thousands of refugees. On Monday, the government announced it had arrested 10 Syrians believed to be spying for the Syrian government here.

Nimri, from the northern Jordanian city of Irbid, just across the border from Daraa, said that further damage to overland trade would likely lead to greater Jordanian government support for a rebellion that he believes is continuing to gather momentum. If Saudi Arabia were to arm the rebels, as it has said it would like to do, Jordan is the most likely route.

"The commercial exchange is huge. If we boycott Syria, we boycott ourselves," Nimri said. "But in the coming days, if the damage is done to the Jordanian economy anyway, we will be becoming more supportive."

Meanwhile, the global advocacy group Avaaz announced that Jassim Abu Diab had been seized in an ambush by the Syrian military. Diab had been instrumental in smuggling foreign journalists in and out of Syria from Lebanon, including two journalists who were killed last month during the shelling of Homs.

Avaaz, which has been instrumental in gathering video of the conflict, said Diab had been captured near the Syrian city of Qusayr as he and others were trying to smuggle a wounded Syrian to Lebanon for medical care.

Others in the group managed to make it to Lebanon with the wounded person, Avaaz said, but Diab was taken prisoner.

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