10 killed in Syrian forces shelling

Beirut—Syrian forces barraged an eastern city with mortar shells as anti-government protesters were dispersing before dawn Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, while government troops kept up an offensive in a coastal province where Washington says regime forces may be preparing a massacre, activists said. The violence comes as President Bashar Assad’s regime faces mounting international pressure over brutal tactics against the opposition, with the U.N. accusing the government of using children as human shields. Monday’s report also said children have been victims of detention, torture and sexual violence.

Amateur video of the mortar attack in Deir el-Zour showed dead people in a street as survivors screamed in panic and tried to remove their bodies. Other videos showed some of the wounded receiving treatment at a hospital. The Local Coordination Committees activist group and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 died in the barrage. Bloodshed has spiked in recent weeks as both sides ignore an internationally brokered cease-fire that was supposed to go into effect April 12 but never took hold. The U.S. and its allies also have shown little appetite for getting involved in another Arab nation in turmoil.

The conflict began in March 2011 with mostly peaceful protests against the regime that were inspired by the Arab Spring wave of uprisings. But it has transformed into an insurgency as the opposition increasingly took up arms against a vicious government crackdown on dissent. —AP