Activist: The Syrian regime's method to end the revolution is to 'kill, kill, kill'

The escalating carnage in Syria came to a head Saturday when opposition activists reported more than 440 people dead -- the highest single-day death toll to date in the country's civil war.

But the violence is far from over. Here are some of the latest key developments in the country's 17-month crisis.

On the ground: Daraya becomes a horror story

Saturday's death toll includes the bodies of more than 200 people found in the Damascus suburb of Daraya, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. It was unclear when those victims were killed, though one activist said Daraya has been under attack for at least six days.

CNN cannot independently verify reports of death tolls, as the Syrian regime has severely limited access to international journalists.

But it's not surprising why Daraya came under attack, opposition activist Rafif Jouejati said.

"Daraya is being targeted because it is the closest to the capital, and it is one of the first cities that revolted against the Assad regime and was the spearhead of the peaceful demonstrations in the beginning of the revolution," said Jouejati, a spokeswoman for the LCC.

"I believe the regime thinks that the only way to end the revolution is (to) kill, kill, kill. Deep down, they know they are failing, but they want to destroy as much as possible before it is over."

Early Sunday, nine more bodies were found in Daraya, opposition activists said. The LCC said at least 25 people were killed across the country Sunday.

But the Syrian government had a different take on the situation in Daraya:

"The armed forces cleared the town of Daraya in Damascus countryside from terrorists ... eliminating a large number of them," the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported.

The region: Turkey denies sending aid to rebels, slams the Syrian government

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu rejected claims that his country was shipping weapons to Syrian rebels in their quest to oust al-Assad, the Anadolu news agency reported Saturday.

"These are the arguments which authoritarian regimes had always used to conceal their internal problems," Davutoglu told the NTV news channel, according to Anadolu.

Davutoglu added, "No regime fighting its own people can survive long. (The al-Assad regime) has months, and maybe even weeks -- not years."