Students 'armed' with pencils beaten in Syria, activist says

(CNN) - Syria weathered more anti-government ferment over the past day as the embattled regime girded for another round of nationwide protests Friday.

Security forces rounded up a leading voice for human rights Thursday, hours after a rally erupted at Aleppo University, in the heart of Syria's second-largest city.

The government has been cracking down on protests over the past two months in Daraa, Homs, Banias and other cities.

Protesters plan another round of demonstrations Friday, with rallies expected across the country after Muslim prayers.

"Despite overwhelming international condemnation, the Syrian government continues to exact brutal reprisals against its own citizens, including, tragically, the deaths of hundreds of Syrians since March," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Greenland's capital of Nuuk on Thursday.

She accused the Syrian government of engaging in unlawful detention and torture and denying medical care to the wounded. "Now, there may be some who think that this is a sign of strength, but treating one's own people in this way is, in fact, a sign of remarkable weakness," she said.