Syrian unrest

A handful of soldiers in blue caps put a tentative United Nations presence at the heart of the Syrian crisis yesterday, predicting success for their mission to stabilise a shaky four-day-old ceasefire even as shells were still falling.

Charged with overseeing an end to 13 months of violence, the unarmed multinational squad of six professed their optimism.

However, UN investigators said they had reports of shelling and arrests by Syria since the ceasefire.