Kofi Annan has ended his trip to Syria without a deal as regime forces mount a new assault on rebel strongholds in the north.

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.

Syria's President Bashar Assad appears to be pouring reinforcements into the battle against his opponents in Syria.

Syrian troops have continued shelling residential neighbourhoods in the central city of Homs for the fifth straight day, killing scores of people, activists said.