Syria, Syrian Uprising | featured news

Despite efforts to implant a cease-fire, Syrian authorities said on Monday that attackers had fired anti-tank rockets at the office of the Central Bank in Damascus.

Hundreds of Syrian soldiers reportedly defected from that country's armed forces on Sunday, al-Arabiya reported, citing an opposition-supporting news service.

U.N.-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan has expressed dismay over reports that the Syrian government resumes brutal attacks on cities once U.N. monitors leave -- the latest sign that diplomatic efforts are failing to quash the bloodshed in the country.

International envoy Kofi Annan is expected to brief the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, as reports of carnage in Syria steadily increase despite the council's agreement to boost the number of monitors there.

U.N. ceasefire monitors visited the battered Syrian city of Homs and met its governor on Saturday, hours before the U.N. Security Council was to vote on a draft resolution to authorize the deployment to Syria of up to 300 unarmed military observers.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is tightening his grip on the country during the decrease in violence brought on by U.N. demands, experts on the region say.

The Syrian government renewed attacks on one besieged city and violently tried to take over another, opposition activists said Tuesday, five days after a so-called cease-fire that is showing more signs of disintegrating.

Six United Nations military observers arrived overnight and were ready to begin, depending on the cooperation of the Syrian government, a spokesman for the special envoy Kofi Annan said.

The United Nations Security Council authorized the deployment of 30 unarmed observers Saturday morning to the Syria.

Cease-fire brokered by the U.N. is fragile as government troops halt widespread attacks, but still refuse to withdraw.