Syrians voted Monday in the first "multiparty" parliamentary election in five decades, against a backdrop of violence and dismissed as a sham by the opposition and bordering on the "ludicrous" by the U.S.

Voters cast their ballots in the capital and other regions, while in opposition strongholds residents boycotted the poll, instead staging protests and a general strike.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated a pledge to give shelter to those fleeing a deadly crackdown in neighboring Syria, in his first meeting with Syrian refugees on Sunday.

"You always have a place with us, as long as you want to be here," Erdogan told refugees at the Kilis refugee camp in southern Anatolia, which borders strife-hit Syria.

Syria's authorities and the opposition traded accusations Sunday over who was behind blasts that rocked Damascus and Aleppo, on the eve of parliamentary polls designed to boost the regime's legitimacy.

Overnight violence in Damascus province killed three people, a rights watchdog said, as the authorities made final preparations for a vote it says is crucial for building "the new Syria" but which the opposition has already dismissed as a "farce."

Saudi Arabia on Sunday renewed a warning to its citizens to leave Syria and not to travel to the country, hit by over a year of deadly unrest.

"Due to the continuing deterioration of the security situation in Syria, the foreign ministry renews its warning to all citizens from travelling to Syria," the ministry said in a statement carried by the SPA state news agency.

Kuwait's current and former prime ministers have been questioned by parliamentary and judiciary committees probing graft allegations, a leading MP and local media said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah, who was appointed in December, was questioned Saturday night by a parliamentary panel probing alleged illegal money transfers by his predecessor, head of the panel MP Faisal al-Muslim said.

Three people died in violence overnight in Damascus province, one of them shot dead by regime troops and the other two killed in a blast, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday.

A young man was gunned down by regime troops late on Saturday in the town of Al-Tal, the Britain-based watchdog said, adding that an explosion rocked the Daf al-Shouk area, killing two.

Bahraini rights activist Nabeel Rajab, a leader of protests against authorities in the Gulf kingdom, has been arrested on his return from a trip abroad, the Interior Ministry and activists said on Sunday.

Rajab, who heads the non-governmental Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), was arrested at the airport late on Saturday over charges of "participating in illegal assembly and calling others to join," the center said in a statement.

Morocco said Saturday it had broken up a "terrorist network" active in several cities in the country and that had links to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The network is "led by a leading figure of Mujahideen of Morocco", a little known group with ties to international terror groups, the ministry said.

Niger officials on Saturday held talks in Tripoli on security issues including Saadi Gadhafi and other members of the former regime who are sheltered in Niger and wanted by Libyan authorities.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib said that his country takes "no chances" when it comes to the threat posed by remnants of the former regime sheltered in Niger.

Yemen's new president vowed on Saturday he will push efforts to unite the army that was split during the uprising against his predecessor, and wage a relentless war against al-Qaida militants.

"I shall not tolerate a continued division in the army, and shall not allow any attempt to take the army away from its main duties," said President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, addressing the military academy in Sanaa.