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Activists Accuse Syria of Renewed Shelling


A damaged tank is seen at a street in Homs, April 12, 2012. Picture taken April 12, 2012.
A damaged tank is seen at a street in Homs, April 12, 2012. Picture taken April 12, 2012.

Syrian security forces killed at least five people on Saturday as the U.N. Security Council was deciding whether to send a team of observers to Syria to monitor the shaky cease-fire there.

Amateur video appears to show renewed violence in Syria

Rights groups and activists say forces opened fire on a funeral procession in the northern city of Aleppo, killing at least four people. Other reports of unrest included a government shelling attack on the central city of Homs that killed at least one person.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says two soldiers were killed in a rebel attack in the southern Daraa province.

Deaths across Syria, as tabulated by Syrian Shuhada.
Deaths across Syria, as tabulated by Syrian Shuhada.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote Saturday on a proposed deployment in Syria of a small team of truce observers.

The plan, brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan, calls for government forces to withdraw from urban areas and an end to the government's violent crackdown on dissent. It also calls on the rebels to stop fighting.

The truce began unraveling shortly after it took effect on Thursday, with both sides reporting violence and deaths.

On Friday, activists said government forces fired on civilians as mass opposition protests swelled in several flashpoint areas across Syria.

On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal expressed concern about reports of violence against protesters.

"The threat of violence is still there because the Annan plan is also envisaging that the Syrian people should be able to do peaceful demonstrations, and what we are receiving is reports that there are peaceful demonstrations and people are shot at," said Unal.

The Syrian government has said it would only respond to attacks launched by armed militants.

On Saturday, a Syrian state-run media report blamed "an escalation of terrorist groups" for rising military and civilian deaths.

The U.N. says more than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria's unrest over the past year.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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