Nine members of family killed by Assad troops

Syria's conflict claimed another 23 lives yesterday (Tuedsay), including nine members of a single family who were killed by the regime's army.

The family died in the northern province of Idlib, near the frontier with Turkey, which has been the focus of a government offensive since February.

A mortar round fired by President Bashar al-Assad's army destroyed their home in the village of Mashmashan, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based group. Four women and two children were among those killed.

Elsewhere in Idlib, a boy of 13 also died. This area, once a stronghold for rebels of the Free Syrian Army, has suffered some of the worst fighting as Assad's forces have sought to reimpose their control.

A ceasefire supposedly took effect on 12 April, policed by United Nations observers. However, fighting between the army and rebels claimed the lives of 12 soldiers in the north-eastern province of Deir Ezzor. The rebels also attacked the offices of military intelligence and air force intelligence in Idlib.

So far, only 30 UN observers have deployed in Syria, out of a total of 300. Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary general, called for "armed violence in all its forms by all parties to cease immediately", urging "full co-operation of all parties with the work of UN Supervision Mission in Syria as it expands its presence on the ground".

At present, only two monitors are covering the whole of Idlib province.