Government warplanes bombed a town in northern Syria today, killing at least 18 people, activists said, while the new UN envoy to the country acknowledged that brokering an end to the nation’s civil war will be a “very, very difficult” task.

The UN’s new envoy to Syria said today that president Bashar Assad’s regime should realise that the need for change is both “urgent” and “necessary” and that it must meet the “legitimate” demands of the Syrian people.

A Syrian government official warned the United States today that military intervention in Syria could lead to regional turmoil as regime forces bombed a northern village and stormed a rebel-held Damascus suburb, killing dozens of people.

International envoy Kofi Annan tried to breathe new life into his moribund peace efforts in Syria, saying he has reached a new framework with President Bashar Assad and would discuss it soon with rebel leaders.

Syria’s elite Republican Guard has clashed with rebels outside Damascus in some of the most intense fighting involving the special forces since the uprising against president Bashar Assad began.

International envoy Kofi Annan said today he was “gravely concerned” about the latest violence in Syria, citing shelling of opposition areas in Homs and reports of mortar, helicopter and tank attacks near the coast.

Explosions echoed over Damascus today as Syrian troops clashed with rebels in some of the heaviest fighting yet in the capital in the 15-month uprising against President Bashar Assad.

Syrian troops are clashing with rebels near the border with Turkey, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.

Syrian troops have shelled a southern village and clashed with army defectors holed up inside in violence that killed a 15-year-old boy and five government soldiers, activists said.

A wounded Western journalist working for The Sunday Times escaped from Syria after being trapped for days in the besieged city of Homs, activist groups said.

Two wounded Western journalists escaped from Syria today after being trapped for days in the besieged central city of Homs, activist groups said.

The UN’s human rights chief said today the situation in Syria had deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks and demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has accused the Syrian regime of committing “almost certain” crimes against humanity as activists reported fresh violence and the arrest of several prominent dissidents.

An oil pipeline has been attacked and left on fire in the central Syrian city of Homs, and regime troops have stormed several residential neighbourhoods in the nearby city of Hama, activists said.

The EU has thrown its weight behind an Arab League plan for a transitional government in Syria leading to elections, an attempt to end the violent repression by the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Security forces pursuing anti-government activists and army defectors shot dead at least 47 people in Syria, pushing the toll for two days of violence to nearly 150 even as the regime prepared to allow in foreign monitors under an Arab League plan aimed at stopping the bloodshed.

Syrian troops battled army defectors today in clashes that left several military vehicles in flames.

Syria’s President Bashar Assad has vowed to continue with a security crackdown to crush ’militants’ who he says are massacring Syrians on a daily basis.

Syria’s allies in Russia have called for urgent talks between Damascus and the opposition, saying an attack by Syrian rebel troops on a government building looks like the start of a civil war.

Syrian security forces killed seven people as they opened fire to disperse thousands of protesters rallying against the country's regime on the first day of a Muslim holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, activists said.

Syrian security forces have fired on thousands of protesters who poured into the streets throughout the country killing at least 10 people, activists say.

A besieged Syrian city came under fresh artillery fire early today as a deadly military assault left President Bashar Assad’s regime increasingly isolated, with Arab nations forcefully joining the international chorus of condemnation for the first time.

Arab-world outrage at Syria’s brutal crackdown has intensified as, for the first time, its neighbours joined the international chorus of condemnation against President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Defying government guns, thousands of Syrian protesters poured down city streets and a main highway today to press demands for President Bashar Assad’s ousting.