Activists say Syrian troops shell neighborhoods in Homs

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian troops shelled two rebel-held neighborhoods in the central city of Homs on Saturday, April 14 in an apparent violation of an internationally brokered cease-fire, activists said.

According to The Associated Press, the reported bombardment came as the United Nations Security Council prepared to vote on a resolution authorizing the deployment of the first wave of U.N. military observers to monitor the cease-fire between the Syrian government and opposition fighters.

Since the truce brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan came into effect, far fewer deaths have been reported than from the daily norm of clashes and shelling before the truce.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shelling on Saturday morning in Homs lasted for about an hour and there were no reports of casualties. It said another wave of mortar rounds hit the neighborhoods later in the day.

In Homs, which has been one of the hardest hit areas in Syria in the past 13 months and became the symbol of Syria's uprising, the sporadic shelling started Friday night and continued into Saturday morning, activists said.