Syrian troops move into towns in north

Security forces were gathering in Khan Sheikhun and Maarat al-Numan, a town of 90,000 between Damascus and Aleppo.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged Syria to halt the bloodshed and "stop killing people".

The UN says that at least 1,100 people have died as the government has violently sought to quash protests over the past three months.

State television said late on Thursday that President Bashar al-Assad's cousin, Rami Makhlouf, intends to give up his business interests - which span telecommunications, construction and oil - and donate his profits to charity.

A first cousin of President Bashar al-Assad Rami Makhlouf is arguably the most powerful economic figure in Syria.

He has been the subject of persistent accusations of corruption and cronyism, and protesters in Syria have specifically targeted his business interests.

Makhlouf is one of a number of Syrian officials on the European Union's sanctions list, which includes asset freezes and travel bans.

President Assad is facing the gravest threat to his family's 40-year ruling dynasty, as unrest that first erupted in the south of the country has now engulfed the north - near the border with Turkey - and is threatening to spread eastwards towards its border with Iraq.

State television has shown pictures of troops moving into the town of Maarat al-Numan, which sits along the main road between Damascus and Aleppo. The town is some 40km (25 miles) south-east of Jisr al-Shughour.

It said the army had also moved to Khan Sheikhoun, just to the south, to prevent what it called "armed terrorist organisations" from cutting the highway.

Officials have said they are planning a "limited military operation" in Maarat al-Numan to restore security there.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, thousands of residents were fleeing from the towns as troops approached.

Turkish officials are reported to be preparing to send food, clean water, medicine and other aid to thousands more stranded on the Syrian side.

In its report published on Thursday, the UN said that the use of live ammunition against mostly unarmed civilians had killed around 1,100 people.

Syrian rights groups put the overall death toll in Syria at 1,297 civilians and 340 security force members.

UN investigators, who were refused access to the country, believe that as many as 10,000 people have been detained. The authorities appear to have denied civilians the right to food and medical care by laying siege to towns and preventing supply deliveries, it adds.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has repeatedly appealed to Syria to let in a humanitarian team make a proper assessment, but the Syrian authorities have refused.

Meanwhile, Syria has called on the people of Jisr al-Shughour to return, three days after an army attack restored government control there.

More than 8,000 Syrians have fled from the north-western town into Turkey in the past week to escape military operations, which the government says are aimed at tackling "terrorist organisations".

Officials said the city of around 100,000 people - which has been the focus of large anti-regime demonstrations - was returning to normal, but that army units were still pursuing "militants" through the hills around the town.

Damascus says some 120 security personnel were killed by "armed gangs" in the town on 6 June, and on Wednesday state TV said a "mass grave" containing three bodies had been found.

Refugees arriving in Turkey describe the regime's operation in the northern mountains as a "scorched-earth" campaign, and Syrian soldiers who deserted have said they were forced to commit atrocities.

European powers are campaigning for a draft UN Security Council resolution condemning the crackdown, but they face opposition from Russia and China, both of whom wield veto powers and object to UN action against President Assad.