U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday said violence against Syrians has continued despite his repeated calls for President Bashar al-Assad to halt excessive and lethal actions by government security forces. Addressing a meeting at the University of Sydney in Australia on Thursday, Mr. Ban said he has urged Mr. Assad to carry out political reforms before it is too late.Meanwhile rights activists said the crackdown continued on Thursday with heavy gunfire as military vehicles stormed a village in northwestern Syria.The operation comes a day after activists said security forces killed at least 20 people during raids against anti-government protesters, mostly in the central Homs region.