Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned of an "earthquake" if the West intervenes in his country, the BBC reports on Sunday.
In a rare interview with the UK's Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Assad said involvement risked transforming Syria into "another Afghanistan".
His comments came after the UN secretary-general made a new call for the repression to end.
At least 50 civilians and members of the security forces were killed on Saturday, according to the two sides.
More than 3,000 people have died in the unrest since protests calling for the government of President Bashar al-Assad to step down broke out in March.
