OTTAWA - With dozens more Syrian civilians killed Saturday as dictator Bashar al-Assad tries to crush dissent, Canada has again denounced the regime in Damascus.

"Canada condemns in the strongest terms the recent reports of the killing of innocent civilians, including women and children by the Assad regime," said Rick Roth, spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. "Our government continues to play a positive, constructive role in the search for solutions to end the violence and oppression in Syria."

That comes as a dozen women and children are reported dead after of shelling in the Syrian town of Deraa, where the uprising against al-Assad erupted 15 months ago.

Overall, 33 people are reported dead amid fighting in Damascus, Homs and other cities on Saturday, leaving a ceasefire brokered by UN special envoy Kofi Annan in tatters.

Baird spoke with Annan by phone on Saturday, telling him that Canada still supports his peace plan.

The minister added that an unspecified "small group of countries" might be best placed to produce real change in Syria, though it's not clear if that means military intervention.

Russia has so far shielded the al-Assad regime from international sanctions pressure.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has also suggested Iran could help secure regime change in Syria.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has dismissed the idea of accepting help from a country she says is "stage-managing the Assad regime's assault on its people."

-- with files from Reuters