Deir al-Zour has been one of the main focal points of the unrest that began in mid-March
The Syrian army has launched a pre-dawn assault on Deir al-Zour, the largest city in the east and scene of frequent protests, human rights activists say.
Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said scores of tanks and armoured vehicles had entered several areas of the city.
Other activists said there had been shelling and "very strong explosions".
Earlier, the UN secretary general told President Bashar al-Assad to stop using troops against civilian protesters.
In a telephone call on Saturday, Ban Ki-moon "expressed his strong concern and that of the international community at the mounting violence and death toll in Syria over the past days", a UN spokesman said.
It was the first such communication in several months; the UN says Mr Assad had been refusing to accept calls from the secretary general.
Activists say at least 1,650 civilians have been killed and ten of thousands arrested since the uprising began in mid-March.
Tribal areaActivists said the bombardment of Deir al-Zour, about 450km (280 miles) east of Damascus, began at dawn on Sunday, with scores of tanks and armoured personnel carriers moving into many parts of the city, to the sound of loud explosions and machine-gun fire.
"Shelling has been heard in several areas," Mr Abdel Rahman told the AFP news agency.
They said people were unable to flee because troops were all around, but also that some of the soldiers had defected rather than shoot at people.
There have so far been no reports of any casualties.
Earlier this week, residents had reported the build-up of soldiers and tanks, which they said were trying to divide the city into smaller parts.
State media also foreshadowed the assault, saying the security forces needed to combat armed gangs that were terrorising residents.
Parts of the city were shelled on Thursday night and Friday morning, witnesses said. Some reported shortages of food and water.
Despite the imminent threat of an assault, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets after Friday prayers, chanting: "We don't want the army inside the cities".
The Syrian city of Hama has been the scene of recent heavy bombardment by security forces
The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says Deir al-Zour, on the Euphrates river and not far from the border with Iraq, is in a strongly tribal area. Some tribal leaders have declared loyalty to the regime, but not all.
Hama assault
Meanwhile in the western city of Hama, the Local Co-ordination Committees, which has been monitoring anti-regime protests, said the number of those killed since the army launched an assault last Sunday was now more than 300.
Earlier, the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council expressed deep concern for "the escalating violence in Syria and use of excess force".
"GCC countries... call for an immediate end to the violence and any armed appearances, as well as an end to the bloodshed," it said.
In another development, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu would visit Syria on Tuesday.
Mr Erdogan said Turkey could not "remain a spectator" to events across the two countries' long shared border.
"We have reached the end of our patience and that is why I am sending the foreign minister to Syria on Tuesday. He will have talks there during which he will convey our messages with determination," he said.
Mr Erdogan added: "We do not consider the problems in Syria a question of foreign policy but a domestic matter."
- Syria's anti-government protests, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, first erupted in mid-March after the arrest of a group of teenagers who spray-painted a revolutionary slogan on a wall. The protests soon spread, and human rights activists and opposition groups say 1,700 people have died in the turmoil, while thousands more have been injured.
- Although the arrest of the teenagers in the southern city of Deraa first prompted people to take to the streets, unrest has since spread to other areas, including Hama, Homs, Latakia, Jisr al-Shughour and Baniyas. Demonstrators are demanding greater freedom, an end to corruption, and, increasingly, the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.
- President Assad's government has responded to the protests with overwhelming military force, sending tanks and troops into at least nine towns and cities. In Deraa and Homs - where protests have persisted ? amateur video footage shows tanks firing on unarmed protesters, while snipers have been seen shooting at residents venturing outside their homes.
- Some of the bloodiest events have taken place in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour. In early June, officials claimed 120 security personnel were killed by armed gangs, however protesters said the dead were shot by troops for refusing to kill demonstrators. As the military moved to take control of the town, thousands fled to neighbouring Turkey, taking refuge in camps.
- Although the major cities of Damascus and Aleppo have seen pockets of unrest and some protests, it has not been widespread - due partly to a heavy security presence. There have been rallies in the capital - one with an enormous Syrian flag - in support of President Assad, who still receives the backing of many in Syria's middle class, business elite and minority groups.
- The Assad family has been in power for 40 years, with Bashar al-Assad inheriting office in 2000. The president has opened up the economy, but has continued to jail critics and control the media. He is from the minority Alawite sect - an offshoot of Shia Islam ? but the country's 20 million people are mainly Sunni. The biggest protests have been in Sunni-majority areas.
- Although the US and EU have condemned the violence and imposed sanctions, the UN Security Council has been unable to agree on a response. Some fear the country could descend into civil war if the government collapsed, while others believe chaos in Syria ? with its strategic location and its web of regional alliances - could destabilise the entire Middle East.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-14435177
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