Syrian troops have fired mortar rounds at a rebel-held neighbourhood in the central city of Homs in apparent preparation to storm the area, activists said today.

At least eight people have been reported killed in Syrian government shelling of rebel-held areas as the United States, Europe and Arab nations met in Tunisia to seek ways to end President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on the uprising.

The Red Cross has called for a daily two-hour ceasefire in Syria so that it can deliver emergency aid and reach people who are wounded or sick.