A Syrian general and several soldiers crossed into Turkey on Monday, a Turkish diplomat told Agence France Presse, bringing the number of defections by generals from Bashar Assad's embattled regime to at least 18.

Turkey has become home to dozens of defectors who have crossed the border and formed the Free Syrian Army in opposition to Assad's regime.

Israeli police said they have arrested a Jewish man suspected of spray painting death threats outside the Jerusalem home of a prominent Israeli anti-settlement activist working for Peace Now.

"A 21-year-old man suspected of spraying the graffiti on Hagit Ofran's home was arrested on Monday evening, following the incident earlier that day," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Agence France Presse.

Residents of Treimsa are adamant: government troops and their proxy shabiha militia slaughtered hundreds in their village last week to push Syria into a religious war.

Despite government assertions its troops targeted armed rebels and not residents during the military offensive, hatred is palpable everywhere in this small central Syrian village.

The Iraqi government on Tuesday urged its citizens in strife-hit Syria to return home because of "increasing attacks" on them and warned Turkey against "any violations" of its territory and airspace.

"Iraqis are guests who live temporarily in Syria and the Iraqi government calls on them to return to the country," government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki arrives in France on Tuesday for a visit aimed at rebuilding strained ties with the country's former colonial ruler in the wake of its popular revolution.

Keen to win diplomatic support and maintain strong trade relations, Marzouki meets President Francois Hollande on Tuesday and on Wednesday will address the National Assembly -- the first foreign leader to do so since European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in 2006.

The Muslim Brotherhood urged the Syrian people on Tuesday to rise up and back rebels locked in a "decisive battle" against the troops of President Bashar Assad in Damascus.

The influential Islamist group said the people must seize "this historic moment" by providing support for rebels who are fighting troops in several parts of Damascus for the third consecutive day.

Iran on Tuesday insisted that U.S. military deployment in the Gulf is "a source of insecurity", after the fatal shooting of an Indian fisherman by a U.S. navy ship in waters off Dubai.

"When the Islamic republic says that the presence of foreign forces is a source of insecurity, this is a perfect example" of what Iran means, foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters.

Filipino workers trying to flee the unrest in Syria are being charged up to $10,000 by their employers before they can leave, the foreign department in Manila said on Tuesday.

Syrian employers are demanding that they be refunded large amounts they paid for the deployment of Philippine staff, foreign department spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters.

Emirati authorities have arrested, Mohammed al-Roken, a prominent lawyer who has defended activists in the country, one of his sons told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.

"Police yesterday evening intercepted his car" as he went to search for another son, Rashid, and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Hajeri, both of whom had disappeared near the southeastern town of Hatta, Salim al-Roken said. Salim, who was accompanying his father in a separate car, said Roken called and told them that "security services have arrested me."

Syrian rebels declared the battle to "liberate" Damascus has begun as heavy fighting raged across the capital on Tuesday and Russia said it will do everything to support a tattered peace plan.

The proclamation by the Free Syrian Army came as U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said the 16-month-old crisis, which is increasingly being described as a civil war, was at a "critical time."