BEIRUT - Syrian troops fired on mourners at a funeral and raided an eastern city yesterday, killing at least 69 people in an intensifying government crackdown on protesters.

Outrage was intensifying as well: Syria’s Arab neighbors forcefully joined the international chorus of condemnation against President Bashar Assad’s regime for the first time.

Even the king of Saudi Arabia - whose country does not tolerate dissent and lent its military troops to repress antigovernment protests in neighboring Bahrain - harshly criticized the Syrian government and said he was recalling his ambassador in Damascus for consultations.

More than 300 people have died in the past week, the bloodiest in the five-month uprising against Assad’s authoritarian rule. Not all were killed by bullets or tank shells: In the besieged city of Hama, where the government has cut off electricity and communications, a rights group said eight babies died because their incubators lost power.

The worst violence yesterday was in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, where at least 42 people were killed.

“The city was bombed by all types of heavy weapons and machine gun fire before troops started entering,’’ an activist in the city said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

“Humanitarian conditions in the city are very bad because it has been under siege for nine days,’’ the activist said. “There is lack of medicine, baby formula, food, and gasoline. The city is totally paralyzed.’’

The military offensive spread to the central town of Houleh in Homs province, about 90 miles north of Damascus. Ammar Qurabi, who heads the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, said 17 people were killed yesterday.

State TV said a military force was ambushed near Houleh, leaving three officers dead and three wounded.

Both Houleh and Deir el-Zour have had intense protests against Assad since the uprising began. Deir el-Zour is the capital of an oil-producing province by the same name, but the region is among the country’s poorest.

Qurabi said security forces yesterday also shot and killed 10 people in the city of Idlib, about 170 miles northwest of Damascus. He said those killed were taking part in a funeral of eight protesters shot to death by security forces Saturday night.

The government’s crackdown on mostly peaceful, unarmed protesters demanding political reforms and an end to the Assad family’s 40-year rule has left more than 1,700 dead since March, according to activists and human rights groups. Assad’s regime disputes the toll and blames a foreign conspiracy for the unrest, which at times has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters into the streets.

The regime intensified the crackdown a week ago on the eve of Ramadan, the holy month in which many Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, then eat festive meals and gather in mosques for special nightly prayers. The government has been trying to prevent the large mosque gatherings from turning into more antigovernment protests.

After sunset yesterday, thousands of people poured into the streets in areas around Syria, including the capital Damascus and its suburbs, the village of Dael in the south, the central city of Homs, Latakia on the Mediterranean coast, and the northern city of Aleppo, according to the Local Coordination Committees, a group of activists tracking the Syrian uprising.

There were reports of shootings during the demonstrations but no immediate word on casualties, according to the group.

Syria’s crackdown had already drawn criticism and sanctions from the United States and many other nations, but the latest attacks brought a new wave of condemnation. Saudi King Abdullah demanded “an end to the killing machine and bloodshed.’’

“Any sane Arab, Muslim, or anyone else knows that this has nothing to do with religion, or ethics or morals,’’ the king said in a statement.

Abdullah accused the Syrian government of a disproportionate response and said it must enact speedy and comprehensive reforms to avoid chaos.

The 22-member Arab League, which had been silent since the uprising began, said yesterday it is alarmed by the situation and called for the immediate halt of all violence. On Saturday, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council criticized Syria’s “use of excess force.’’ Turkey, which borders Syria and until recently was a close ally and trade partner, said it would send its foreign minister to Damascus tomorrow to deliver a strong message against the crackdown. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey could not remain a bystander to the violence.

The statements signal that Arab states have lost patience with Assad and will not be silent anymore. Sectarian divisions also play a role: Saudi Arabia is the major Sunni power in the Mideast and Syria is dominated by Assad’s Alawite sect, which rules over a Sunni majority.

The government’s reaction to Turkey’s criticism was quick. State-run TV quoted Assad adviser Buthaina Shaaban as saying that Turkey’s foreign minister “will hear stronger words because of Turkey’s stance that did not condemn until now the brutal killings of civilians, members of military and police.’’

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.