UN suspends monitoring in Syria

Syrian troops intensified shelling of rebel-held neighbourhoods in central Homs yesterday, according to activists who say humanitarian conditions are growing more dire and are pressing for the evacuation of 1,000 families and dozens of wounded people who can’t get adequate medical care.

Homs has been under siege for a week, part of a major escalation of violence around the country that forced the 300-strong UN observer force in Syria to call off its patrols.

“The humanitarian situation in Homs is very difficult,” said Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “It is very clear that the army wants to retake Homs.”