U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that the international community needs to be more united on dealing with the Syrian government's crackdown on the pro-democracy movement there.

"Right now the attitude of the international community is not as united as we are seeking to make it," the chief U.S. diplomat told reporters.

Syrian opposition groups insisted on regime change as they met in Turkey on Wednesday, a day after President Bashar Assad decreed an amnesty for political prisoners following two months of bloodshed.

The three-day gathering -- titled "Conference for Change in Syria" -- opened with the Syrian national anthem and a minute of silence for "the martyrs" killed in bloody crackdowns on street protests simmering in Syria since March.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday decreed a general amnesty for Muslim Brotherhood members and political prisoners after two months of deadly anti-regime protests, the official SANA news agency reported.

"President Assad has by decree issued an amnesty on all crimes committed before May 31, 2011," it reported. "The amnesty applies to all political prisoners as well as to the Muslim Brotherhood."

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has held more than one meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad to discuss reform in Syria, al-Akhbar daily reported Monday.

The newspaper did not say when the talks were held.

Syrian security forces killed at least eight people on Friday as anti-regime protests broke out across Syria, including in the capital Damascus, activists said.

"We have three people killed in the southern town of Dael, three others in the Damascus suburb of Qatana, one in the suburb of Zabadani and another in Jableh, located near the coastal city of Latakia," said Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Reinforced sanctions against Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria will be on the agenda of the G8 summit of the world's most powerful leaders Thursday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

"Clearly, the question of strengthening sanctions against Syrian leaders needs to be asked. There will be discussions about this tonight," Sarkozy told reporters at the meeting in the French resort of Deauville.

Dozens of supporters of Syria's Bashar al-Assad gathered in Beirut Monday to express support for the embattled president, drowning out a nearby vigil in memory of those killed in two months of unrest.

"God, Syria, Bashar" and "Sarkozy, Obama, you brutes, you will never enter Syria," chanted some 50 men in the Hamra district of Beirut amid heavy security.

Europe tightened the noose on President Bashar al-Assad Monday, imposing sanctions on the Syrian leader for the first time while calling for quick Middle East peace talks as it responded to the Arab Spring.

Long reluctant to target the Syrian leader directly, the European Union's decision to slap an assets freeze and travel ban on Assad is the latest in a string of measures against his regime, though the effects are unclear.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday sanctioned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six top aides over their crackdown on popular protests, telling Assad to launch a transition to democracy or step down.

Obama signed the executive order to "increase pressure on the government of Syria to end its use of violence and begin transitioning to a democratic system that ensures the universal rights of the Syrian people," the document said.

Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad has said he believes the unrest roiling his country is coming to an end while acknowledging that security services had made mistakes in trying to tame a two-month revolt.

The international community, meanwhile, appeared divided Wednesday on how to tackle the Syrian crisis. Switzerland joined an EU-led sanctions regime, while Russia warned it would oppose any proposed U.N. resolution to intervene with force in Syria.