( CNN ) -- A Syrian city known for its relative calm during the Syrian uprising has been stormed by security forces , an opposition activist group said Tuesday . The Local Coordination Committees of Syria -- a network of opposition activists -- said security and government forces entered the Tal Refaat neighborhood of Aleppo . Aleppo , Syria 's largest city , is the economic center of the country , and the city 's merchant class had been largely unaffected by the country 's upheaval . Meanwhile , the city of Al-Rastan was being bombarded by the army and `` heavy machine guns mounted on tanks , '' on Tuesday , the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said . The observatory said 20 people were wounded , seven of them seriously , in the Homs province city . Since protests began in March , demonstrators have demanded true democratic elections and the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad , but such protests have often been met with force . Almost 3,000 people have died in the government 's crackdown , according to some accounts . CNN is unable to independently confirm death tolls or events in Syria , which has restricted access to many parts of the country by international journalists . The Syrian government has been battling opposition activists for what it calls a campaign against terrorists . At the United Nations , Foreign Minister Walid Moallem blamed `` foreign incitement '' for the troubles , which he said were fueled by U.S. and European sanctions . `` This course can not in any way be reconciled with pronouncements about concern for the interests , security and rights of the Syrian people , '' Moallem told the General Assembly . `` It further runs counter to the basic principles of human rights in defense of which these states base their interference in our internal affairs . '' He said Syria had been `` a model of peaceful co-existence '' among its people 's religious and ethnic groups , and that disturbing that peace was aimed at `` spreading Western hegemony over the countries of the Mediterranean and serving Israel 's expansionist interests . '' On Monday , the state-run news agency SANA published a report citing an unnamed military source saying that authorities found Israeli weapons , explosives and stolen military uniforms in Homs and recovered weapons , ammunition detonators and other military supplies hidden in a drum and a water tank in the garden of a house in Naseeb , a city in Daraa province . CNN 's Yousuf Basil contributed to this report .
Syria : The city of Al - Rastan was being bombarded , he says . Aleppo had been relatively calm during the Syrian uprising . Syria 's foreign minister ' ` ` foreign incitement '' for anti - government protests . State media reports discovery of weapons , ammunition and drug cases in Homs and Daraa .