Syrian security forces surrounded and raided a rebellious southern district in Damascus, arresting more than 100 people on Thursday, state television said, and opposition activists said several others were shot dead.

An activist in the Yarmouk district, where rebels have been hiding out in recent days, said tanks and soldiers had sealed all the entrances. Hundreds of soldiers were searching the area on foot and on trucks mounted with heavy machineguns, Reuters reported.

Yarmouk is an unofficial camp for Palestinian refugees. The densely populated, impoverished district in southern Damascus is packed with concrete buildings. This summer, many districts of southern Damascus became a daily battleground in an 18-month-old popular revolt against President Bash Al-Assad.