Fresh clashes hit Sryian towns

Activists said at least 13 people have been killed in fresh violence across Syria, as Arab League observers continue their mission to visit flashpoint cities in the country. Six of the dead were said to be taking part in an anti-government demonstration in the central city of Hama and activists said other protestors were killed in Homs, Aleppo and Idlib.

The observers visited Homs for a second time this week, and were greeted by angry residents. The team's head said he had so far seen "nothing frightening", dismaying some activists and Western observers.

A video uploaded by activists from the protest in Hama showed gunshots being fired and black smoke rising above the city. Protestors were seen marching through the city's streets yelling, "Where are the Arab monitors?"

A UK human rights group said that army defectors killed four Syrian soldiers in an ambush in Deraa, the centre of the nine-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's presidency.