Syrian soldiers kill 3 east of Damascus as UN expands mission

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian soldiers backed by tanks killed three people east of Damascus on Sunday, April 22 activists said, after the United Nations voted to expand its mission monitoring a 10-day-old ceasefire agreement, Reuters reported.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two people were killed in the town of Douma and one in the village of Htaita.

Local activist Omar Hamza put the toll at four, saying two people were killed when the army shelled buildings in Douma, scene of recent protests against President Bashar al-Assad, and two were killed elsewhere in Damascus province.

The UN Security Council on Saturday authorized the deployment of 300 unarmed military observers to Syria to monitor an April 12 ceasefire which has curbed some of the violence but failed to halt the bloodshed completely.

An advance mission of observers, which has been in Syria for a week, toured Homs on Saturday. Two of them spent the night in the city, which has been a focal point for protests and armed opposition to Assad's 12-year rule.