Whether there is actually an armed rebellion or if Assad is using this as an excuse to be even more violent is hard to say due to varying reports. Regardless, we should expect a change in tone from the already violent security forces and it's not likely to be a good change. Al Jazeera:
Syrian authorities have threatened to crack down on "armed groups" it says killed 120 members of its security forces in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughur.
"The state will act firmly, with force and in line with the law. It will not stay arms folded in the face of armed attacks on the security of the homeland," Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar, the Syrian interior minister, said in a televised statement on Monday.
The minsiter's threat of retribution came after Syrian state television said that the security forces who came under attack were on their way to the town in response to calls for help from residents, and that they died in an ambush and an explosion at a post office.
