Syrian government forces Thursday shelled a key rebel-held district in the central province of Homs, according to the opposition, as Damascus vowed to "cleanse" the area from "terrorists", reported state media.
Fierce clashes between the rebel Syrian Free Army and government troops continued Thursday on the outskirts of the Baba Amr neighbourhood in Homs, activists said, dpa reported.
Dozens of civilians have been killed in government attacks on Baba Amr since February 3 and many more remain trapped there, according to the opposition.
Syrian state television reported Thursday that the government army will soon "liberate the area from terrorists."
It was impossible to reach activists inside Homs because all communications were cut off.
Homs, Syria's third-largest city, has been the hub of the uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad since mid- March 2011.
The new international envoy on Syria, Kofi Annan, a former United Nations secretary general, said Wednesday he hoped to be in Damascus soon with a "clear" message that the killing and violence must stop.