Tanks roll through a town amid jarring sounds of heavy fire in this video, uploaded to YouTube by anti-government activists in Syria. It purports to show army tanks in the village of Herak.

The Local Coordination Committees, an opposition network, said Wednesday that "explosions and heavy gunfire from heavy weapons were reported" in Herak "after regime forces raided the town in tanks."

As the fighting rages on between opposition forces and President Bashar Assad's government forces, here are three other glimpses inside Syria, as seen through YouTube videos uploaded by opposition activists in the embattled country.

Though the government often argues that amateur videos coming from Syria are staged, the footage has proved a powerful testament to the violence. Because access to many of the most violent areas of Syria is restricted, The Times cannot verify the exact events shown.

The YouTube video above purportedly shows children in the Deraa province Wednesday, chanting in support of the children in Homs' besieged neighborhood of Baba Amr, which has been under shelling for weeks.

Gunfire suddenly rings out in this video clip, which purportedly shows regime troops patrolling the city of Hama on Wednesday. The soldiers are seen at first walking down a road calmly, some of them lighting cigarettes. But when shots ring out, the troops go on alert.

In their description of the YouTube video, opposition activists said the gunfire was coming from pro-regime militias known as Shabiha.

This YouTube video reportedly shows a large funeral procession for a fallen member of the Syrian opposition in Idlib on Wednesday.

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-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles and Alexandra Sandels in Beirut