Violence erupts in Syria despite peace plan

Violence has erupted in the restive Syrian city of Homs, killing at least five people as tank shells slammed into an area that has turned into one of the main centres of both protest and reprisal during the seven-month uprising, activists said.

Bloodshed linked to the military crackdown on dissent and what appear to be sectarian revenge killings has engulfed Homs in recent weeks, killing scores of people in the country's third-largest city.