Syrian troops kidnapped on Wednesday two Lebanese farmers in the border region of al-Abboudiyeh.

The residents in the area blocked the international road in protest against the development.

Germany sees no grounds to speculate on a possible military intervention in Syria, its foreign minister said Wednesday, a day after France's president said armed force was not ruled out.

"From the federal government's point of view, there is no reason to speculate over military options," Guido Westerwelle was quoted as saying in an interview to appear in Thursday's issue of the Die Welt daily.

Syria ordered the Dutch charge d'affaires on Wednesday to leave the country, the foreign ministry said, in an apparent reaction to the expulsion of Syrian diplomats by a slew of Western countries.

"Syria is expelling the charge d'affaires of the Netherlands and gives her 72 hours to leave the country," a statement said.

The U.N. observer mission chief in Syria, Major General Robert Mood, said on Wednesday he was "deeply disturbed" by the killing of 13 people in eastern Deir al-Zour, calling it an "appalling and inexcusable act."

"Thirteen bodies were discovered last night (Tuesday) in the area of Assukar, 50 km east of Deir al-Zour. All the bodies had their hands tied behind their backs and some appear to have been shot in the head from a short distance," Mood said in a statement.

China on Wednesday restated its opposition to military intervention in Syria, as Russia sought to halt fresh U.N. Security Council action after a massacre of civilian’s sparked global fury.

"China opposes military intervention in Syria and opposes regime change by force," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters.

U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan on Wednesday said the situation in Syria is "complex" and urged an intensification of international efforts to end bloodshed that has killed thousands of people.

"The Syrian issue is complex, and the world is closely following developments there," Annan told Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh during a meeting in Amman.

Russia said on Wednesday it was "premature" for the U.N. Security Council to take new action on Syria after the massacre of 108 civilians in the city of Houla.

"We believe that a review now by the Security Council of any new measures on the situation would be premature," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told the Interfax news agency.

Fierce fighting erupted on Wednesday between regime troops and rebels near Damascus and in Homs province, a watchdog said, while reporting 39 more people killed across Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five people were killed in the Damascus suburb of Douma, a hotbed of anti-regime sentiment, while a civilian was shot dead in Daraya, in the same province.

Japan and Turkey lined up on Wednesday with many of their Western allies who have kicked out Syrian diplomats as international outrage grows over brutal mass slayings blamed on the government in Damascus.

Japan has told the Syrian ambassador in Tokyo to leave the country, the foreign ministry said.

Two Islamists, who have escaped the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, were arrested by Syrian security forces in Hama, al-Akhbar daily reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper said that Palestinian officials have received unconfirmed information about the arrest of the two Islamists who were reportedly among at least seven extremists who escaped the camp.