The Syrian deputy foreign minister Saturday denied as "media fabrication" reports that the Syrian army has used tanks to shell residential neighborhoods in the central province of Homs.

Faisal Mikdad told reporters that "armed groups" moved to escalate the violence when the United Nations Security Council was discuss the Syrian crisis, saying "law-enforcement officials are moving very cautiously and carefully not to cause any damage to civilians or properties."

"Most of the casualties were government forces," he said.

Meanwhile, the official downplayed the possibility of the Arab League's (AL) recognition of the broad-based opposition, citing his government's "strong supporters."

The recognition "would be a dangerous matter in the course of the inter-Arab relations, but it won't change a thing in the crisis because the supporters of the Syrian government are strong, " he said.

The AL's foreign ministers are to discuss a possible recognition of the Syrian National Council as the main opposition group at a meeting in Egypt's capital of Cairo on Sunday, Saudi semi-official newspaper Al Sharq reported, citing Arab sources.

Mikdad called on all Arab countries to help Syria by supporting the reform efforts and halting their alleged support to the "armed groups."

"Syria would eventually win through reconciliation and through embarking on a dialogue with all spectra of the Syrian people," he said, adding that Syria has accepted to conduct the dialogue in Russia while the opposition refused the proposal.

Regarding some countries' decisions to pull back their diplomat missions from Syria, Mikdad said "this is absolutely not the way of dealing between Arab countries, even at war times," adding that Syria "regrets" such acts.

On the return of Arab League monitors to Syria, Mikdad said that Syria welcomes the renewal of the mandate and the continuation of the presence of the monitors.

"We believe that the protocol which was based on observing one side will not work anymore ... But there are new elements in the mandate, we shall need to discuss with the Arab League," he said.