At least 40 civilians were reportedly killed in Syria on Tuesday amidst increasing international pressure over President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on opposition protests. Syrian human rights groups say 26 people were killed north of Hama, while another 17 were killed in Deir ez-Zor. The violence came as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on Assad to end the crackdown in a face-to-face meeting in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Davutoglu said he urged Assad to stop attacking civilians.

Ahmet Davutoglu: “We had the opportunity to share very clearly and in a transparent way with Mr. Assad the steps that can be taken to avoid the army coming face to face with the people and to avoid further tensions, like what happened in Hama.”

The Obama administration, meanwhile, is reportedly preparing to explicitly demand Assad’s departure and impose new sanctions on his regime. A formal announcement is expected this week.