Fighting raged near a military base in Syria’s north as a ceasefire in the bloody civil war was set begin on Friday at dawn, activists said, illustrating the difficulty of enforcing even a limited truce coinciding with a Muslim holiday.

France's decision to send direct aid to Syria's opposition amounts to so little that it is all but useless, rebels and activists say.

Rebels were attacking several security compounds in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo today, activists said.

Syrian forces pounded a suburb of the capital Damascus with mortars and artillery shells today, a day after rebels operating in the town abducted a pro-government TV crew, activists said.

Gunmen snatched 47 Iranian pilgrims just outside Damascus in a brazen attack that revealed the growing instability at the centre of President Bashar Assad’s power.

Humanitarian conditions have grown even more dire in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo with activists reporting dwindling stocks of food and cooking gas and only intermittent electricity supplies as droves of local residents flee almost two weeks of intense clashes between rebels and regime forces.

It is estimated 200,000 civilians have fled fighting in Syria's biggest city of Aleppo.

Syrian troops fired tank shells and artillery today at neighbourhoods in Aleppo as rebels tried to repel a government ground assault against their positions in Syria's largest city, activists said.

The Syrian government launched an offensive yesterday to retake rebel-held neighbourhoods in the nation's commercial hub of Aleppo, unleashing artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships against poorly armed opposition fighters.

The Syrian government launched an offensive to retake rebel-held districts in the nation's commercial hub of Aleppo today, unleashing artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships against poorly armed opposition fighters.

Syrian government tanks backed by attack helicopters swept into Aleppo today as the regime launched an assault to regain control of the city.

Syria’s most prominent defector has put himself forward as someone to unite the fractured opposition as the disparate factions were set to gather in Qatar today to try to agree on a transitional leadership if Bashar Assad’s regime is toppled.

Syrian forces are shelling several neighbourhoods in Aleppo as the battle for control of Syria's largest city rages into its sixth day, activists said today.

An explosion in a car wash in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo killed at least five people today, activists said, while another blast in the capital destroyed nine cars.

Syrian forces have opened fire on thousands of protesters in Aleppo, a day after a raid on dormitories at the city's main university killed four students and forced the closure of the state-run school.

Syrian rebels seeking to topple president Bashar Assad have killed three regime officers in separate attacks around Damascus, the latest violence targeting the security forces used by the government to quash dissent.

Syrian troops have stormed and shelled districts in a suburb of the capital Damascus, activists said.

Syrian forces used live fire, tear gas and clubs to beat back tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets across the country yesterday in powerful and often jubilant displays of defiance.

Syria’s foreign minister has said the government has already withdrawn some forces from several cities, and stated that the UN-brokered ceasefire must start at the same time as the deployment of international observers.

Activists said Syrian forces attacked two towns today as a deadline passed for President Bashar Assad’s troops to start withdrawing from populated areas under an internationally brokered truce deal.

Syrian troops have launched a fierce assault on a Damascus suburb, days ahead of a deadline for a UN-brokered ceasefire.

Syrian troops are attacking a suburb of the capital Damascus in what activists described as one of the most violent campaigns since the year-old uprising began.

Syrian troops have clashed with army defectors and shelled rebel districts in Homs, killing at least 11 civilians a day after the government claimed it had begun a withdrawal ahead of the deadline for an international truce plan.

Syrian troops have begun pulling out from some cities and heading back to their bases a week ahead of a deadline to implement an international ceasefire plan, a government official said.

A domestic passenger plane that crashed into the hills in Pakistan’s capital today was carrying 152 people, an official said.

BRITISH police questioned 22 suspects yesterday in the alleged plot to bomb trans-Atlantic jetliners in mid-air, and the country’s top law-and-order official warned that the risk of another attack remained high.